Plasma Protein as a Precursor of Rat Liver and Hepatoma Protein

Abstract

WHILE there is little evidence that one protein can be converted into another without complete degradation to amino-acids in the tissues of normal animals (see Askonas et al. ¹), there is some evidence that such an interconversion of proteins can occur in tumour tissue. Thus Babson and Winnick² showed that the Walker rat-carcinoma incorporated amino-acids from injected plasma protein without complete hydrolysis of the latter to free amino-acids. Recently, Busch and Greene³ have demonstrated a more rapid uptake of amino-acids derived from plasma protein by implanted tumour tissue than by normal tissue. In these experiments the uptake by the tissues of injected free amino-acids served as a control.