Metabolic incorporation of 3H-thymidine into cellular DNA is a widely used protocol to monitor rates of DNA synthesis and cell proliferation. However, this radiochemical has also been reported to induce cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis in addition to DNA damage. Using stable isotope-labeled thymidine, we demonstrate that 3H-thymidine induces dose-dependent inhibition of the rate of DNA synthesis. This inhibition occurred within the first round of replication after addition of the radiolabeled tracer and demonstrates the cytotoxic effects of conventional doses of 3H-thymidine (typically greater than or equal to 1 microCi/ml). These results thus show that stable isotope methods are superior to radioisotopes for determining rates of DNA synthesis and cell replication. Because 3H-thymidine perturbs the very process it was employed to study, experiments using 3H-thymidine to monitor DNA synthesis and cell proliferation should be interpreted with caution.

Maternal and fetal plasma differ in their concentrations of the important drug binding plasma proteins, albumin and alpha 1-acid glycoprotein, with albumin being slightly more concentrated in fetal plasma, and alpha 1-acid glycoprotein being only 37% of the maternal concentration at term. In general, these differences relate linearly to the bound to free concentration ratio of drugs associated with these proteins. Although only the free concentration is generally considered to be the pharmacologically active form, these differences can dramatically affect the total concentration and relative distribution of drugs between maternal and fetal plasma. In order to test our hypothesis that plasma protein binding is the major determinant of fetal/maternal drug distribution at steady-state, we examined whether fetal binding could be predicted from adult binding information. Data from studies of maternal plasma protein binding were used to predict fetal plasma protein binding based solely on the differences in protein concentrations. These predictions were compared with observed fetal binding data. This analysis showed a slope near unity and a high correlation (r2 = 0.900) which implies that there are no significant differences between the binding affinities of these proteins. A similar analysis performed using data on drug binding in non-pregnant adults gave an r2 or 0.971. Having established that fetal plasma proteins bind drugs similarly to their maternal counterparts, fetal/maternal plasma drug concentration ratios (F/M) were predicted for various drugs using information from literature on the drug's adult plasma protein binding, the protein to which it binds, and the fetal and maternal plasma concentrations of that binding protein.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

A remote labeling method has been developed to determine 18 O kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) in Ras-catalyzed GTP hydrolysis. Substrate mixtures consist of 13 C-depleted GTP and [ 18 O, 13 C]GTP that contains 18 O at phosphoryl positions of mechanistic interest and 13 C at all carbon positions of the guanosine moiety. Isotope ratios of the nonvolatile substrates and products are measured by using a chemical reaction interface͞isotope ratio mass spectrometer. The isotope effects are 1.0012 (0.0026) in the ␥ nonbridge oxygens, 1.0194 (0.0025) in the leaving group oxygens (the ␤-␥ oxygen and the two ␤ nonbridge oxygens), and 1.0105 (0.0016) in the two ␤ nonbridge oxygens. The KIE in the ␤-␥ bridge oxygen was computed to be 1.0116 or 1.0088 by two different methods. The significant KIE in the leaving group reveals that chemistry is largely rate-limiting whereas the KIEs in the ␥ nonbridge oxygens and the leaving group indicate a loose transition state that approaches a metaphosphate. The KIE in the two ␤ nonbridge oxygens is roughly equal to that in the ␤-␥ bridge oxygen. This indicates that, in the transition state, Ras shifts one-half of the negative charge that arises from P ␥-O␤-␥ fission from the ␤-␥ bridge oxygen to the two ␤ nonbridge oxygens. The KIE effects, interpreted in light of structural and spectroscopic data, suggest that Ras promotes a loose transition state by stabilizing negative charge in the ␤-␥ bridge and ␤ nonbridge oxygens of GTP. R as is the prototypical member of the family of small G proteins, which along with G␣ subunits of heterotrimeric G proteins, constitute a class of GTP hydrolases that regulate diverse signaling pathways in eukaryotes (1). Ras orchestrates multiple signaling pathways and regulates cell differentiation, proliferation, and apoptosis (2-4). The GTP-bound forms of G proteins are functionally active: that is, they bind to ''effector'' molecules and regulate their activities or location within the cell. Hydrolysis of GTP results in deactivation and effector release (5). In the absence of other factors, the duration of the active signaling state depends on the intrinsic hydrolytic rate of the G protein, which is typically very slow. However, Ras and other G proteins are subject to specific regulation by GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs), which accelerate intrinsic hydrolytic rates by factors ranging from 10 to 10 5 . In particular, RasGAP increases the GTPase rate of Ras by a factor of 10 5 , from 10 Ϫ4 s Ϫ1 to 10 s Ϫ1 (6). Mutations that impair either intrinsic or GAP-facilitated GTPase activity leave Ras in a prolonged state of activation, which is responsible for its role in oncogenic diseases (7).Ras catalyzes the in-line attack of water on the ␥ phosphate of GTP with inversion of configuration (8). However, the nature of the transition state and the rate-limiting step of Ras-catalyzed GTP hydrolysis remain unclear (9-16). A phosphoryl transfer reaction may either proceed through a metaphosphate or a phosphorane intermediate, or by a concerted pathway (Fig. 1) (17, 18...