Biochemical studies of the Ehrlich ascites carcinoma-Bunyamwera virus system.

The Ehrlich ascites carcinoma of mice, first described by Loewenthal and Jahn (26), has in recent years been the subject of a great many investigations. Klein et cd. have studied certain of the biological properties and the nucleic acid con tent of this tumor (15, 17), and Christensen and co-workers (7, 8) have inquired into the capacity of the tumor to concentrate amino acids. Moldave (33) has used the cells for studies of protein turn over. Sugiura (51) has examined the effects of numerous compounds on the growth of the tumor, while LePage and others have made extensive studies of purine metabolism (9, 11, 24) and have suggested that the incorporation of glycine-2-C14 into the purines of the tumor cell be used as a con venient test system for the examination of the potential anti-cancer agents (25). Kun et al. (23), Williams-Ashman (54), McKee and his associates (30), and others (29, 40, 49) have investigated many of the metabolic properties of the Ehrlich ascites tumor. The propagation of Mengo and Bunyamwera encephalitis viruses in cells of the Ehrlich ascites carcinoma has been reported by Koprowska and Koprowski (18, 19), and the cytological changes associated with the growth of Bunyamwera virus in these cells have been described by Love, Ko prowski, and Cox (28). Flanagan and Colter (12) were successful in growing Mengo virus in Ehrlich cells in vitro and showed that the virus did not affect the respiration or glycolytic activity of the cells. The advantages of ascites tumor-virus sys tems for the study, not only of virus reproduction, but of the mechanism of selective cell destruction as well, have been pointed out by Koprowski and his associates (20, 21). The present paper describes certain metabolic and biochemical properties of Ehrlich ascites car cinoma cells and the effects thereon of infection with Bunyamwera virus.