Primary cultures of rat myocardial cells were used to investigate the dose and time-dependent cellular enzyme release induced by either Adriamycin or daunorubicin, Concentrations of either anthracycline (1.8 or 18 microM) produced significant release of creatine phosphokinase and lactic dehydrogenase from myocardial cells within 24 hr of exposure without a detectable decrease in cell viability. Preincubation of the myocardial cells with varying concentrations of adenosine (10 microM to 1 mM) for 24 hr prior to the addition of anthracycline decreased or prevented drug-induced enzyme release. Other putative myocardial protectants, i.e., N-acetyl-L-cysteine, alpha-tocopherol, or carnitine, were ineffective in preventing anthracycline-induced enzyme release. Although adenosine was an effective myocardial protectant, it had no significant effect on cellular uptake of daunorubicin, nor did adenosine adversely affect the oncolytic activity of daunorubicin against L1210 leukemia cells in vitro. Anthramycin, another oncolytic agent having reported cardiotoxic effects, was also tested in the in vitro system. With this drug, however, no enzyme release was detected at less than lethal doses nor did adenosine have any protective potential against the toxicity of anthramycin. Finally, Adriamycin caused no significant lactic dehydrogenase release when incubated at 1.8 or 18 microM with H9c2 cells, a cell line having primarily skeletal muscle characteristics. This result suggests a specific toxicity of anthracyclines for myocardial but not skeletal muscle cells.