USE OF A NEW CITRULLINE INCORPORATION ASSAY TO INVESTIGATE INHIBITION OF INTERCELLULAR COMMUNICATION BY 1,1,1-TRICHLORO-2,2-BIS(PARA-CHLOROPHENYL)-ETHANE IN HUMAN-FIBROBLASTS

  • 1 January 1985
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 45  (2) , 515-519
Abstract
A citrulline incorporation assay was developed to measure intercellular communication between argininosuccinate synthetase-deficient and argininosuccinate lyase-deficient human fibroblasts. The effects of DDT on intercellular junctional communication were investigated. DDT at a concentration of 20 .mu.g/ml inhibited metabolic cooperation by 90 to 98%. This inhibition was of rapid onset and was rapidly reversed by washing the cells. Inhibition of metabolic cooperation by DDT was not dependent on the presence of extracellular free Ca, indicating that DDT does not act by increasing net Ca influx into cells. This system should prove useful in elucidating the relationship between tumor promotion and intercellular communication.