Independent fluctuations of cytidine and adenosine diphosphate reductase activities in cultured Chinese hamster fibroblasts.

The activities of CDP and ADP reductases were determined throughout the cell cycle of Chinese hamster fibroblasts synchronized by partial deprivation of isoleucine. Both enzyme activities were increased in S phase as compared to G1 phase. CDP reductase increased about 8-fold while ADP reductase increased about 2.5-fold. The ratio of CDP to ADP reductase was 0.26 at the G1 and early S phases of the cell cycle; the ratio was increased to 0.83 by late S phase. Addition of actinomycin D or cycloheximide to cell cultures in G1 phase prevented the increase of both CDP and ADP reductases activities in the latter part of the cell cycle, but the ratio of the two activities was not affected. The ratio of CDP to ADP reductase activities varied from 0.8 to 3 in different populations of exponentially growing DON cells. These results show that CDP and ADP reductase activities vary independently in growing cells. The independent variation with cell growth of CDP and ADP reductases suggests important individual functions of the deoxynucleotides during the cell cycle apart from their common role as precursors of DNA synthesis.