Beta-glucuronidase activity of Yoshida ascites hepatomas of different drug-sensitivity and its change after treatment of host rats with various anticancer agents.

Change in beta-glucuronidase activity of six Yoshida ascites hepatomas was examined after treatment of host rats with one of 12 anticancer agents. The hepatomas, AH-66F, AH-130, AH-109A, AH-60C, and AH-44, in decreasing order showed more or less distinct increase in beta-glucuronidase activity after treatment of the rats with Nitromin, Endoxan, 864-T, Carbazilquinone, Mitomycin-C, Toyomycin, Daunomycin, Neocarzinostatin, vincristine sulfate, 5-fluorouracil, or cytosine arabinoside only when the cytological effect was positive. Moreover, degree of the increase was generally correlated with that of cytological effect. Bleomycin was ineffective either enzymically or cytologically. AH-66 was insensitive to any of the agents tested in increasing beta-glucuronidase activity and showed only a very slight cytological response to some of the agents. Acid deoxyribonuclease behaved like beta-glucuronidase but to a lesser extent. The above order of drug sensitivity of the hepatomas was not in parallel with that of normal beta-glucuronidase level, which also did not correlate with the life span of host rats.