Serum deoxythymidine-5'-triphosphatase activity in lymphoproliferative disorders of men and mice.

A recently discovered enzyme of the pyrimidine pathway, deoxythymidine-5'-triphosphatase (dTTPase), was estimated in sera from leukemic mice and 64 untreated patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) as well as 30 patients with plasmocytoma. At the age of 19 weeks the Mov-9 substrain of 129 mice developed leukemia in contrast to the congenic controls. Patient lymph node biopsies were classified according to the Kiel classification. The results showed a significant correlation between dTTPase activity and the onset of proliferation (studied in mice), as well as the grade of malignancy (studied in men). The more advanced the disease or the less aggressive the tumor, the higher the dTTPase activity. This gives rise to the speculation that dTTPase might be part of a control in the proliferation process.