Molecular Mechanism of 5-Fluoro-2′-deoxyuridine-induced dNTP Imbalance Cell Death: Purification of an Endonuclease Involved in DNA Double Strand Breaks During dNTP Imbalance Death

Abstract
We have detected, isolated and purified an endonuclease from 5-fluoro-2′-deoxyuridine-treated FM3A cells. The molecular mass of the endonuclease was approximately 40 kDa as judged by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide DNA-containing gel electrophoresis. The endonuclease causes double strand breaks in DNA, with an optimum pH at 6.