RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 5-Iodo-2'-deoxy-L-uridine and (E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)-2'-deoxy-L-uridine: selective phosphorylation by herpes simplex virus type 1 thymidine kinase, antiherpetic activity, and cytotoxicity studies. JF Molecular Pharmacology JO Mol Pharmacol FD American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics SP 1231 OP 1238 VO 47 IS 6 A1 Spadari, S A1 Ciarrocchi, G A1 Focher, F A1 Verri, A A1 Maga, G A1 Arcamone, F A1 Iafrate, E A1 Manzini, S A1 Garbesi, A A1 Tondelli, L YR 1995 UL http://molpharm.aspetjournals.org/content/47/6/1231.abstract AB 5-Iodo-2'-deoxy-L-uridine (L-IdU) and (E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)-2'-deoxy-L-uridine (L-BVdU) have been prepared and found to inhibit herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) thymidine kinase (TK) with activities comparable to those of their analogs with the natural D-sugar configuration. The mechanism of inhibition is purely competitive for L-IdU (Ki = 0.24 microM) and mixed-type for L-BVdU (Ki = 0.13 microM). High performance liquid chromatographic analysis of the reaction products demonstrated that the viral enzyme phosphorylates both L-enantiomers to their corresponding monophosphates with efficiency comparable to that for D-enantiomers. Neither L-enantiomer inhibits the human cytosolic TK. In contrast to their D-enantiomers, L-IdU and L-BVdU have no effect on human thymidylate synthase, either in HeLa cells or in TK-deficient HeLa cells transformed with the HSV-1 TK gene. Both L-enantiomers (i) have no effect on HeLa cell growth, (ii) are 1000-fold less cytotoxic toward TK-deficient HeLa cells transformed with the HSV-1 TK gene than are their D-enantiomers, (iii) in contrast to their D-enantiomers, are fully resistant to hydrolysis by nucleoside phosphorylase, and, (iv) in spite of their much lower cytotoxicity, most probably due to the very low affinity of L-BVdU monophosphate and L-IdU monophosphate for thymidylate synthase, are only 1 or 2 orders of magnitude less potent than their D-enantiomers in inhibiting viral growth, with potency comparable to that of acyclovir.