Induction of ornithine decarboxylase, tyrosine aminotransferase, and thymidine kinase by glucocorticoid in isolated, perfused liver after tumor inoculation.

A method for producing solid tumors in rat liver or spleen by local inoculation of Yoshida sarcoma or Hirosaki sarcoma was developed by careful selection of rat strains. After development of the tumor, the liver was isolated and perfused with a mixture of calf serum and fluorocarbon. Addition of corticoid hormone to the perfusion fluid induced tyrosine aminotransferase in normal tissue of the liver and to a lesser degree in the tumor tissue. Corticoid did not cause any detectable induction of thymidine kinase in normal tissue of the liver, but caused slight but definite induction of the enzyme in the tumor tissue. Ornithine decarboxylase was induced in the normal tissue by perfusion with serum alone, even without corticoid, but no enzyme induction was observed in the tumor tissue. The low level of this enzyme found in solid tumor tissue might be due to the fact that the enzyme was measured in the late period of tumor growth, because, in experiments with ascites tumor cells, higher enzyme activities were observed in the early period of growth.