The importance of choice of anaesthetics in studying radiation effects in the 9L rat glioma.

In the present study we demonstrate that the glycolysis of the tumour 9L glioma, in vivo, may be manipulated with ketamine/xylazine combinations of anaesthetics. Xylazine alone or in combination with ketamine causes hyperglycaemia which is enhanced by glucose injections. Intracellular tumour pH is acidified when glucose is administered with ketamine/xylazine. However, the combination of inorganic phosphate and insulin with ketamine/xylazine and glucose caused an alkaline shift in the tumour pH as measured by 31P NMR. The anaesthetic combination of ketamine/acepromazine did not produce alterations in blood glucose or in tumour pH status as detected by 31P NMR spectroscopy. These results demonstrate dramatic effects of ketamine/xylazine on the acidification or alkalinisation of the cells of 9L glioma. These altered metabolic states are of potential therapeutic importance. The choice of xylazine alone would be useful for chemotherapy and hyperthermia modalities, both known to be dependent upon glucose metabolism and resultant acidification.