Induction of apoptosis and $\G_1$ arrest by LJ-331, a novel nucleoside analog,in human leukemia HL-60 cells

In a continuous effort to develop novel anticancer agents we newly synthesized and evaluated the antitumor activity of nucleoside analogues. One analogue, 4-[2-Chlor-6-(3-iodo-benzylamino)-purin-9-yl]-2,3-dihydroxy-cyclopentanecarboxylic acid methylamide (LJ-331), has been shown to exert a potent inhibition of human cancer cell growth in vitro including human lung (A549), stomach (SNU-638) and leukemia (HL-60) cancer cells. Following mechanism of action study revealed that LJ-331 induces cell cycle arrest at the G$_1$ phase in HL-60 cells and evokes apoptotic phenomena such as an increase in DNA ladder intensity and chromatin condensation by a dose-and time-dependent manner. (omitted)