Inhibition of m-AMSA-induced topoisomerase IIα-mediated DNA cleavage by intercalators. The abilities of 0–50 µM acridine (ACR, closed circles), 9-aminoacridine (9AA, open circles), and ethidium bromide (EtBr, squares) to inhibit DNA cleavage induced by 25 µM m-AMSA were determined. A singly end-labeled 50-mer oligonucleotide substrate was used as the cleavage substrate. The level of DNA cleavage in the presence of 25 µM m-AMSA and the absence of competitor was set to 100%. The inset shows the effects of 50 µM ACR, 9AA, and EtBr on DNA cleavage mediated by human topoisomerase IIα in the absence of m-AMSA. The baseline level of DNA cleavage in the absence of intercalators was set to 100%. Error bars represent the standard deviation of three independent experiments for both the figure and the inset.