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Distribution of Copper-64 in Control Mice and in Mice Bearing Ascitic Krebs Tumor Cells¹

Section de Physique et Chimie [S. A.] and Section de Biologie [J. C.], Institut Curie, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, and Université de Paris Sud, Biologie Moléculaire Végétale, et CNRS (LA 40), 91405 Orsay [J. G., E. G., I. S.], France

Three to 20 hr after an i.p. injection of ⁶⁴Cu (half-life, 12.8 hr) into mice bearing Krebs ascites cells, a high amount of the radioisotope was recovered in the ascites cells themselves. In the control group, the radioisotope was mainly present in the liver. Similar amounts of ⁶⁴Cu were recovered in regenerating as well as in normal liver, whereas in the liver of mice bearing ascites cells, this amount was lower by 40 to 50% regardless of the ascitic volume. Thus, the copper metabolism seems to be disturbed at the hepatic level in mice bearing ascites cells.

The distribution of ⁶⁴Cu was analyzed in DNA, RNA, and proteins from cellular lysates fractionated by CsCI gradient. There was a uniform pattern of distribution in the macromolecules from ascites cells, while ⁶⁴Cu was preferentially associated with the protein fraction from liver. Further experiments indicated that, in vivo, ⁶⁴Cu was bound to the DNA of ascites cells.

¹ This article is the first in a series of reports dealing with the possible use of the lethal effect of ⁶⁴Cu decay in tumor control. This work was supported by the International Atomic Agency, Vienna, Austria ("Research Agreement Contract" 1918/R2/CF); by the financial support of the "Comité de Coordination" of the Institut Curie; by Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (Contract 78-4-042-3); and by the Ligue Nationale Française Contre le Cancer, Paris, France.

² To whom requests for reprints should be addressed.

Received 6/23/80. Accepted 12/22/80.