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The Influence of Dietary Protein Concentration and Energy Intake on Mitogen Response and Tumor Growth in Melanoma-Bearing Mice¹

Department of Human Anatomy and Section of Rheumatology-Clinical Immunology, School of Medicine, and Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, California 95616

The effects of energy deprivation and low or high dietary protein levels upon lymphocyte transformation of spleen cells from syngeneic tumor-bearing and control mice were studied in a murine model of malignant melanoma. Both T- and B-lymphocyte transformation were significantly stimulated by the presence of a growing melanoma. T-cell responses, however, were dependent only upon dietary protein concentrations, not the level of energy intake; whereas, the converse was true for B cells. Moreover, mice fed stock diet had the lowest response to mitogens of all diets tested. Except for mice receiving a 15% casein diet, tumor weights were generally not affected by level of intake or the amount of dietary protein. Others have demonstrated that melanoma cells have a greater need for tyrosine or phenylalanine than other tumor cells; thus we hypothesized that lymphocyte transformation may be depressed by relatively low phenylalanine or tyrosine levels in the diet when protein intakes are limited by either a low dietary concentration, a restricted intake of a diet containing adequate protein, or both.

KEY WORDS: • melanoma • protein energy malnutrition • lymphocyte transformation

¹ Supported in part by funds from the Cancer Research Coordinating Committee and Biomedical Research Support, University of California and National Cancer Institute Grant RO20816.

² M.E.G. is a recipient of Research Career Development Award AI00193.

Manuscript received 26 June 1978.