Liver and blood cell catalase activity of tumor-bearing mice.

One of the earliest reports on the systemic effects of tumors was made by Brahn (2), who found that the liver catalase activity of human beings with cancer of the rectum, stomach, pancreas, and intestine was very much lower than normal. This systemic phenomenon later was studied extensively by Greenstein et al. (4-8) with the use of a large number and variety of tumor-bearing mice and rats. However, no effect of a growing tumor on erythrocyte catalase was observed (6). These investigators (6, 8) postulated the existence of a toxic material from the tumor which might be responsible for lowering liver catalase activity. In later work, Nakahara and Fukuoka (15) isolated a material from human cancer material which they referred to as toxohormone. This material, when injected into mice, brought about a lowering in the liver catalase activity; it did not affect liver catalase in vitro (14). More recent studies have shown that the behavior of leukocyte catalase is similar to that of liver, rather than to that of erythrocyte catalase. Rechcigl and Evans (17) reported that a relatively specific inhibitor of catalase activity, 3-amino-l ,2,4-triazole, inhibited catalase in liver, kidney and leukocytes but not in erythrocytes. In vitro experiments with tumor extracts, which are known to depress the catalase activity of liver but not of erythrocytes. also have been shown to inactivate leukocyte catalase (3). We therefore asked whether tumors in vivo have an effect on leukocyte catalase activity similar to their effect on liver catalase activity. Consequently, we have made a study of both liver and blood cell catalase activity of inbred mice bearing both spontaneous and transplanted tumors.