Uptake of radioactive thymidine and cytidine by Ehrlich ascites tumor cells in different stages of growth

Summary In Strong A female mice, the Ehrlich ascites tumor inoculated into the peritoneal cavity grows exponentially for the first 7 days with a doubling time of about 36 hours. The tumor enters then into a late stage during which the number of tumor cells in the peritoneal cavity does not increase. The uptake of intraperitoneally injected thymidine decreases from the exponential to the late stage, mostly because of a decrease in the fraction of cells in DNA synthesis. During the exponential phase, the uptake of thymidine is a function of the amount of radioactive thymidine injected per tumor cell, the utilization decreasing with increasing cell dose. The uptake of intraperitoneally injected cytidine decreases slightly with time after inoculation although the fraction of tumor cells in RNA synthesis remains constant.Dedicated to Professor Friedrich Wassermann with admiration and affection on the occasion of his 80th birthday.This investigation was supported by U.S.P.H.S. Grant CA-05667. The author is a U.S.P.H.S. Research Career Development Awardee.