CI-972 (2,6-diamino-3,5-dihydro-7-(3-thienylmethyl)-4H-pyrrolo[3,2- d]pyrimidin-4-one monohydrochloride, monohydrate) is a competitive inhibitor of PNPase (E.C. 2.4.2.1., Ki = 0.83 microM) entering clinical trials as a T cell-selective immunosuppressive agent. Neither CI-972 (less than or equal to 50 microM) nor dGuo (less than or equal to 10 microM) inhibited [3H]Thd uptake by human MOLT-4 (T cell) or MGL-8 (B cell) lymphoblasts, but in the presence of 10 microM dGuo, the IC50 for CI-972 decreased to 3.0 microM for MOLT-4 but remained at greater than 50 microM for MGL-8. Inhibition of MOLT-4 growth was associated with an increase in dGTP that was dependent on CI-972 concentration and inhibited by 2'-deoxycytidine. Growth could not be restored by hypoxanthine or adenine. No alterations in GTP pools were noted in MOLT-4, and neither GTP nor dGTP were altered in MGL-8.