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The Effect of Transplantable Tumors on the Seromucoid Fraction of Rat Serum^*

( Department of Surgery and Surgical-Medical Research Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada)

The seromucoid fraction of rat serum has been investigated by means of serial analyses of its protein, hexosamine, hexose, sialic acid, and fucose content in 168 animals subjected to various experimental conditions. Twenty-two animals served as normal controls, and the four test groups included: (a) rats bearing Walker 256 carcinoma, (b) rats bearing Flexner-Jobling carcinoma, (c) rats given a single intramuscular injection of denatured Walker tumor, and (d) rats given a single intramuscular injection of viable rat liver cells. Characterization of the seromucoid fraction was also attempted by various means.

The data presented indicate that all seromucoid components measured show a progressive and marked increase in Walker carcinoma-bearing rats, a pattern which is at variance with that observed in Flexner-Jobling carcinoma-bearing rats and rats receiving a single intramuscular injection of either heat-denatured Walker tumor cells or viable rat liver cells. The seromucoid produced in response to aggressive tumor growth is biochemically unlike normal seromucoid in its carbohydrate composition, and ultracentrifugation studies suggest that it contains a seromucoid fraction that either is not present in the serum of normal rats or is present in quantities that are incapable of measurement by the methods available.

^* This investigation was supported by a grant from the National Cancer Institute of Canada (NCI # 226).

Received 6/15/64.