Bromodeoxyuridine incorporation into DNA of human leukemia cells is not concentration dependent

Abstract
Leukemia blasts isolated from bone marrow aspirates of 44 adults with acute leukemia were incubated for 1 h with 0.008–32 μM bromodeoxyuridine (Brd-Urd). After dual labeling with monoclonal anti-BrdUrd antibodies and propidium iodide, the cells were analyzed by flow cytometry. Percent labeled cells and intensity of labeling were similar over concentrations of BrdUrd ranging from 0.8–32 μM—a 40-fold range. Therefore, despite potential interpatient variability in nucleoside pharmacokinetics, commonly used doses of BrdUrd which are intended to achieve steady-state plasma concentrations in the 8.0 μM range can be expected to provide a reliable estimate of the S-phase fraction.