Acid hydrolases in the extracellular medium of Ehrlich ascites tumor cells.

The hydrolytic activities released to the extracellular medium by tumor cells could be related to the fundamental mechanisms of invasion and metastasis. This paper deals with a study of the extracellular release of several enzymatic activities by Ehrlich ascites tumor (EAT) cells maintained in vitro. The activities of acid hydrolases increase during the first 30 minutes of in vitro incubation to levels significantly higher than those of cytoplasmic enzymes. The presented results are consistent with the hypothesis of the existence of a mechanism in these cells for the specific release of lysosomal contents.