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Effect of Crystalline Ricin on the Biosynthesis of Protein, RNA, and DNA in Experimental Tumor Cells¹

Institute of Biochemistry, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China

Ricin, a highly toxic crystalline protein isolated from Ricinus communis, has a strong inhibitory effect on protein biosynthesis and a moderate inhibitory effect on DNA biosynthesis in Ehrlich ascites tumor and Yoshida ascites hepatoma cells. However, RNA biosynthesis in these neoplastic cells is not affected. These inhibitory effects are not due to the impairment of glucose metabolism or of the uptake of amino acid in the tumor cells by ricin. The protein biosynthesis of rat liver is much more resistant to ricin than that of neoplastic cells.

¹ This investigation was supported in part by the National Council of Science, Republic of China, and by the China Medical Board, New York, N. Y.

Received 10/27/70. Accepted 2/26/71.