Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Action of carbamoylating agents on tumors

Conference · · Fed. Proc., Fed. Am. Soc. Exp. Biol.; (United States)
OSTI ID:5459304

Tumor-selective inhibition of protein synthesis by sodium cyanate in vivo may be mediated by cytochrome P-450 dependent metabolism. The authors investigated cyanate metabolism and effects of organic isocyanates under in vivo and in vitro conditions. Homogenates or S9 fractions were incubated with sodium cyanate. There was a decrease in cyanate concentration which was not consistently greater with liver than hepatoma preparations and may be attributed to carbamoylation of proteins. This change was not increased by NADPH and MgCl/sub 2/. When rat liver microsomes were incubated with sodium cyanate no increase in the oxidation of NADPH was detected. Incubation of HTC cells with sodium cyanate (0.25 mg/ml) caused a 10% inhibition of (/sup 3/H)thymidine incorporation into DNA. Inhibitory effects were seen with liver S9 or microsomal preparations and NADPH but in combination with sodium cyanate no more than an additive effect was observed. Ethyl isocyanate and 2-chloroethyl isocyanate caused a greater inhibition of incorporation of (/sup 3/H)leucine in HTC tumors than in host liver but in isolated HTC cells and hepatocytes the effects of the two compounds were similar. Our results do not support but cannot exclude the importance of cyanate metabolism in tumor-selective effects on macromolecular synthesis. The data suggest that these effects may be a common feature of carbamoylating agents.

Research Organization:
UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, Newark
OSTI ID:
5459304
Report Number(s):
CONF-8604222-
Journal Information:
Fed. Proc., Fed. Am. Soc. Exp. Biol.; (United States), Journal Name: Fed. Proc., Fed. Am. Soc. Exp. Biol.; (United States) Vol. 45:3; ISSN FEPRA
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English