Histochemistry LXXVIII. Ascorbic Acid in Normal Mast Cells and Macrophages and in Neoplastic Mast Cells. ∗

Abstract

Summary

Ascorbic acid and the sum of ascorbic, dehydroascorbic and diketogulonic acids in the mast cell fraction (about 92% mast cells) from peritoneal washings of normal rats, and in mouse ascites tumor mast cells (about 98% mast cells), were determined per 10⁶ cells and per μg protein-nitrogen. Ascorbic acid (551 mμg/10⁶ cells) comprised about 87% of the sum of the acids in the normal cells and about 98% (271 mμg/10⁶ cells) of the sum in the tumor cells. The concentrations of ascorbic acid in the normal and tumor cells were 13 and 10 mμg/μxg protein-nitrogen, respectively. The ascorbic acid per 10⁶ cells in the rat macrophage cell fraction (96% macrophages) was 38% of that in the mast cell fraction, while the ascorbic acid per μg protein-nitrogen in the former was 1 1/3 times that in the latter.