The effect of D-glucosamine on the adenine and uridine nucleotides of sarcoma 180 ascites tumor cells.

The effect of D-glucosamine on the metabolism of adenine and uridine nucleotides in Sarcoma 180 ascites tumor cells was investigated as part of an effort to determine the biochemical basis for the cytotoxic effects of glucosamine on tumor cells. Incubation of ascites tumor cells with exogenous glucosamine resulted in a 4-fold increase in the pool size of UDP-N-acetylhexosamine. A large fraction of 14C-labeled uridine was accumulated as radioactive UDP-N-acetylhexosamine when the cells were incubated in the presence of B-glucosamine and labeled uridine. At the same time there was a significant reduction in radioactivity associated with UMP, UDP, UTP, and UDP-glucose, as well as a reduction of the UTP pool to half of its normal level. Glucosamine in the absence or in the presence of low (1 mma) concentrations of glucose caused a significant reduction of the intracellular ATP pool. However, no such decrease in the intracellular ATP level was observed in ascites cells exposed to glucosamine in the presence of 10 mM glucose.