ONCOLOGY

PARTIAL

OXYGEN

RESPIRATION

PRESSURE

IN P C - 1

AND

TUMORS

TISSUE

DURING

GROWTH

G. S. K a n a f ' y a n o v and S. K. K a u a s h e v

UDC 616-006-008.922.1-092.9-074

The partial oxygen p r e s s u r e and tissue r e s p i r a t i o n were m e a s u r e d in a transplanted P C - 1 t u m o r and in the surrounding n o r m a l tissue for 3 days at 24-h intervals. The values obtained in the muscle fluctuated only a little. The partial oxygen p r e s s u r e in the t u m o r falls during growth while its tissue r e s p i r a t i o n shows a tendency to d e c r e a s e in the l a s t stages of the investigation.

Experiments have shown [5, 7, 12] that the partial oxygen p r e s s u r e (pO2) in solid t u m o r s is s e v e r a l times lower than in n o r m a l tissues. In t u m o r s there are certain zones with a low concentration or even total absence of oxygen. However, these observations are based on the r e s u l t s of a single determination of pO 2 in t u m o r s . There are isolated r e p o r t s of changes in pO 2 in an ascites t u m o r in the e a r l y stages after transplantation [6, 11]. During growth of the t u m o r the pO 2 level in the a s c i t e s fluid falls sharply, s o m e times to z e r o . As r e g a r d s solid t u m o r s , no r e p o r t s of such investigations of the 1302 o v e r a p e r i o d of time could be found in the accessible l i t e r a t u r e . The object of the investigation described below was to determine pO 2 in a t u m o r and at the same time to study the level of oxygen assimilation f o r 3 days at 12-h intervals. EXPERIMENTAL

METHOD

E x p e r i m e n t s were c a r r i e d out on 112 noninbred albino rats weighing 110-130 g with a P C - 1 t u m o r transplanted into the hind limb. The values of pO 2 in the c e n t e r of the t u m o r , at its p e r i p h e r y (at five o r six points), and in the surrounding n o r m a l tissue (gastrocnemius muscle) were m e a s u r e d a m p e r o m e t r i c a l l y [3, 4]. The tissue r e s p i r a t i o n was m e a s u r e d by W a r b u r g ' s g a s o m e t r i c method [9]. The r e s u l t s of the m e a s u r e ments were e x p r e s s e d in m i c r o l i t e r s oxygen a b s o r b e d in 20 rain per 100 mg dry weight of tissue. The volume of the t u m o r was m e a s u r e d by S c h r e c k ' s method [15] at 12-h intervals for 3 days. The numerical r e s u l t s w e r e subjected to statistical analysis. EXPERIMENTAL

RESULTS

The experiments of s e r i e s I showed that the original value of pO 2 in the p e r i p h e r a l zone of the t u m o r was higher than in the central zone (5.5 • 0.7 c o m p a r e d with 1.5 -~ 0.32 m m Hg). In different p a r t s of the s a m e t u m o r , pO 2 v a r i e d f r o m 0 to 16 m m Hg. In the course of 3 days the t u m o r doubled in volume. The degree of oxygen saturation in it fell both at the p e r i p h e r y and in the center. At the last time of m e a s u r e m e n t (the 18th day after transplantation) pO 2 was 2.5 • 0.20 and 1.0 • 0.29 m m Hg, respectively. It must also be noted that zones with a low level of pO 2 were found m o r e often at this time. Whereas during the f i r s t day of investigation on the average only one of nine to 10 zones m e a s u r e d had a low oxygen concentration, on the last day of m e a s u r e m e n t there were two or three o r even more such zones. Kazakh S c i e n t i f i c - R e s e a r c h Institute of Ontology and Radiology, A l m a - A t a . (Presented by A c a d e m i cian of the A c a d e m y of Medical Sciences of the USSR P. D. Gorizontov.) T r a n s l a t e d f r o m Byulleten' ]~ksp e r i m e n t a l ' n o i Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 77, No. 6, pp. 91-92, June, 1974. Original article submitted August 26, 1973. 9 1974 Consultants Bttreau, a division o[ Plenum Publishing Corporation, 227 west 17th Street, New York, N. Y. 10011. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission o[ the publisher. A copy of this article is available [rom the publisher for $15.00.

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In n o r m a l tissue pO 2 was 5-6 t i m e s higher than in the t u m o r t i s s u e , and at the t i m e s studied t h e r e w e r e only slight diurnal fluctuations. The e x p e r i m e n t s of s e r i e s II showed s m a l l diurnal fluctuations in the r e s p i r a t i o n of the n o r m a l tissue. The intensity of oxygen uptake in the t u m o r was not l e s s than in the m u s c l e . W h e r e a s the oxygen uptake (QO2) in the muscle was 38 • 2.22 ~l, in the t u m o r it was 35.2 • 3.21 #l at the p e r i p h e r y and 33.8 • 2.6 ~l at the center. These r e s u l t s a g r e e with data in the l i t e r a t u r e [2, 8, 10] that the potential r e s p i r a t o r y c a p a c ity of the c a n c e r cells is not l o w e r than that of n o r m a l cells. The study of QO 2 of the t u m o r during its growth showed that the t i s s u e r e s p i r a t i o n in the e a r l y p e riods of the investigation (12-36 h) was within its original l i m i t s and a tendency to d e c r e a s e was o b s e r v e d only a f t e r 60 and 72 h. During growth of a t u m o r the degree of its oxygen uptake g r a d u a l l y r i s e s to a c e r t a i n limit, a f t e r which it begins to fall slowly [1, 13, 14]. In the p r e s e n t e x p e r i m e n t s the oxygen a b s o r p t i o n in the P C - 1 t u m o r m a y have r e a c h e d its m a x i m u m b y the 16th-17th day a f t e r t r a n s p l a n t a t i o n and t h e r e a f t e r fallen g r a d u a l l y with growth of the t u m o r . C o m p a r i s o n of the r e s u l t s of m e a s u r e m e n t of pO z in the t u m o r with the intensity of its t i s s u e r e s p i r a tion thus shows that the l a t t e r is not the limiting f a c t o r of the fall in pO 2 in the t u m o r during its growth. The c a u s e of the d e c r e a s e in pO 2 in the t u m o r in these e x p e r i m e n t s could t h e r e f o r e be d i s t u r b a n c e s of the m e c h a n i s m s of oxygen t r a n s p o r t . LITERATURE 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

6. 7. 8.

9. 10.

11. 12. 13. 14. 15.

CITED

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(1971), p. 327. U. I~l Monte, Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. (New York), 125, 853 (1967). D. Jamieson, J. Coll. Radiol. Aust., 6, 110 (1962). A. Nowoeka, O. Majewsk[, and A. Gornion, Przegl. Lek., 24, 491 (1968). M. Ohta, T. Sugal, M. Suzuki, et al., Nichon Univ. Med. J., 18, 3222 (1959). R.A. Schreck, Am. J. Cancer, 24, 807 (1935).

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