The effect of deuterium oxide on ascites tumor growth in mice.

Abstract

The growth of Krebs-2A ascites tumors in mice was appreciably depressed by the presence of deuterium in the body fluids in concentrations ranging from 13 to 32%. Measurement of the glutamic oxalacetic transaminase (GO-T) levels revealed that with increasing deuteration there was a prcgressive elevation of serum GO-T in tumor-bearing mice and an even more rapid rise of ascitic plasma GO- T. These data suggest that deuteration of the organism leads to tumor-cell injury with resulting release of GO-T into the ascitic fiuid, whence it is carried into the general circulation. The notion that deuterium injures and possibly destroys mouse ascites tumor cells is supported, in part, by the terminal increase in the incidence of eosin-stainable tumor cells and, in part, by the absence of any striking difference in mitotic index of deuterated and nondeuterated tumor cells. These conclusions also apply to transplantable mouse ascites tumors. (auth)