Cell Death Induced by Uridine 5'-triphosphate (UTP) in Contrast to Adenosine 5'-triphosphate

Objective: Extracellular ATP has been reported as an important signaling molecule mediating quite divergent specific biological effects. Recent clinical trials suggest a potential role of ATP in cancer treatment. The aim of our study was to analyze the mechanisms of UTP in comparison to ATP-mediated cell death in an established cell line model (A-431). Methods: Cell culture and proliferation assays, separation of nucleotides by thin-layer technique, measurement of cytosolic free Ca2+, flow cytometry analysis (annexin V), ultra structure, semi-quantitative RT-PCR, standard statistics. Results: ATP, when added as a single dose between 100 and 500 µM to A-431 cell cultures, showed increasing cytotoxicity, mainly a