Abstract
Alterations in the tumor adenine nucleotide pattern (TANP) have been measured at various times in a solid murine tumor undergoing haemorrhagic necrosis in vivo as a consequence of endotoxin administration. The ATP level fell rapidly in the first few hours; the AMP content initially rose, but began to fall back at 4 h. Overall adenine nucleotide losses occurred promptly, with only 4% of the original amount remaining at 24 h. Levels of glucose, glucose 6-phosphate, pyruvate, and lactate were also measured, and, with the exception of lactate, were for the most part lower in tumors from endotoxin-treated animals. Only minor alterations in the adenine nucleotide pattern were seen after either 4 or 24 h in the livers of normal or tumorbearing mice in response to endotoxin injection, even when the creatures were moribund. The changes reported in the tumor are believed to have arisen not as a result of capillary stasis, but from prompt and selective disturbances to mitochondrial function in the tumor which have been described previously (Jones, 1977b, 1979).