Deoxycytidine analogues (dCas) are widely used for the treatment of malignant diseases. They are commonly inactivated by cytidine deaminase (CDD), or by deoxycytidine monophosphate deaminase (dCMP deaminase). Additional metabolic pathways, such as phosphorylation, can substantially contribute to their (in)activation. Here, a new technique for the analysis of these pathways in cells is described. It is based on the use of 5-ethynyl 2'-deoxycytidine (EdC) and its conversion to 5-ethynyl 2'-deoxyuridine (EdU). Its use was tested for the estimation of the role of CDD and dCMP deaminase in five cancer and four non-cancer cell lines. The technique provides the possibility to address the aggregated impact of cytidine transporters, CDD, dCMP deaminase, and deoxycytidine kinase on EdC metabolism. Using this technique, we developed a quick and cheap method for the identification of cell lines exhibiting a lack of CDD activity. The data showed that in contrast to the cancer cells, all the non-cancer cells used in the study exhibited low, if any, CDD content and their cytidine deaminase activity can be exclusively attributed to dCMP deaminase. The technique also confirmed the importance of deoxycytidine kinase for dCas metabolism and indicated that dCMP deaminase can be fundamental in dCas deamination as well as CDD. Moreover, the described technique provides the possibility to perform the simultaneous testing of cytotoxicity and DNA replication activity.
