Nucleic Acids and Their Derivatives in Alcoholic Extracts of Rat Tumors and Normal Muscle. ∗

Abstract

Summary

Spectral absorption analyses on alcoholic extracts of tumors revealed that they had a higher specific density/mg of nucleic acid than did similar extracts of normal muscle or than pure DNA or RNA. This high specific density, as well as type of absorption curve, suggested the presence of guanosine or deoxyguanosine. Paper electrophoresis experiments, followed by study of paper strips for the position of ultraviolet-absorbing components, and for presence of ribosides by an orcinol spray, or of deoxyribosides by cysteine: H₂SO₄ spray, led to the conclusion that tumor extracts contained chiefly deoxyribosides, while muscle extract contained ribosides. The small amount of deoxyribosides in normal muscle extracts in contrast to tumor extracts was supported by chemical analyses and by highly specific bio-assay methods. Moreover, by these methods the relative amounts of purine deoxyribosides and pyrimidine deoxyribosides in tumor extracts differed from those in normal muscle extracts, suggesting that different nucleic acid derivatives exist in tumor and the host muscle tissue.