Metabolism of normal and tumour tissue

THE action of reversibly oxidisable dyestuffs on the metabolism of living animal cells was described in important experiments of Harrop and Barron [1928] and Barron and Harrop [1928].Barron [1929] examined the action on respiration of erythrocytes and Barron and Hoffman [1930] on that of starfish eggs; they were able to show a rough correlation with the oxidation potential of the dyes.When the rate of reduction of the dye by metabolites and of oxidation of the leuco-dye by atmospheric oxygen proceeded more rapidly than the normal oxidation pro- cesses in the cell, the rate of cellular oxidation was increased on addition of the dye.Corresponding with the increased oxidations in erythrocytes, they found a decreased aerobic glycolysis, and the effect of the dyes was also roughly propor- tional to the fermentative power of the cell.This latter effect was found bv Barron [1930] to extend to slices of mammalian tissues, using methylene blue as dyestuff: Barron did not study the effect of methylene blue on aerobic glycolysis in these tissues.The greatest effect of methylene blue in increasing oxidation is shown with tumour, since tumour tissue has a very high glycolysis.This has been confirmed by Jares [1935], who showed also that the R.Q. of tumour tissue was little affected by methylene blue nmethylene blue therefore does not restore the defective carbohydrate oxidation of tumour tissue [Dickens and Simer, 1930.]Elliott and Baker [1935] have also studied the action of some oxidationreduction dyes on normal and tumour tissues, mainly with a view to explaining