Selection of therapeutic agents for intraocular proliferative disease. II. Differing antiproliferative activity of the fluoropyrimidines
M. S. Blumenkranz, M. K. Hartzer and A. S. Hajek
We confirm the potent antiproliferative effects of the fluoropyrimidines on
cellular proliferation in vitro in three different nonmalignant cell types.
All fluoropyrimidines tested, except for fluorocytosine, decrease
proliferation of human dermal fibroblasts, bovine aortic vascular
endothelial cells, and human retinal pigment epithelial cells in vitro.
Fluorouridine, an intracellular metabolite of fluorouracil, is nearly
100-fold more potent than fluorouracil and its deoxymetabolite. Human
dermal fibroblasts are more sensitive to the inhibitory effects of
deoxymetabolites than the cells of either human retinal pigment epithelium
or bovine aortic vascular endothelium. Fluorouridine and other
fluoropyrimidines may prove to be valuable second-generation drugs in the
treatment of intraocular proliferative disorders.
