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Protein Reserves and Growth of the Walker Carcinosarcoma¹ in Rats

Bureau of Biological Research, Rutgers — The State University, New Brunswick, New Jersey

In rats bearing a Walker 256 carcinosarcoma, carcass weight and serum albumin decreased, whereas liver weight, RNA, protein and free amino acids increased. When the tumor-bearing animals were fed a protein-free diet for 3 days before autopsy, the levels of liver RNA and protein decreased. However, there was no effect upon tumor size or composition. When the protein reserves of the host were reduced by feeding a protein-free diet for 2 weeks prior to the implantation of the tumor, the growth rate, RNA-to-DNA ratio and protein content of the tumor decreased markedly. To test the hypothesis that the tumor utilizes the amino acids of the protein reserves for its rapid growth, an experiment was performed which compared the turnover rate of radioactive serum in tumor-bearing and control rats. In the tumor-bearing rats, the catabolic rate of serum globulin and albumin was increased, as was the biosynthetic rate of globulin but not that of albumin. The data suggest that there is a correlation between the magnitudes of the host's protein reserves and free amino acid pool size and the growth rate of the Walker 256 carcinosarcoma. On the basis of the foregoing information a model was proposed to explain protein metabolism in the tumor-bearing animal.

² Post Doctoral Fellow, Public Health Service Grant no. 2G-835.

³ Present address: Department of Radiology Research Laboratories, University of Wisconsin Medical School, Madison, Wisconsin.

Manuscript received 16 November 1964.

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