BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF MACROMOMYCIN

Macromomycin (MCR) is a polypeptide antitumor antibiotic isolated from the culture broth of Streptomyces macromomyceticus. Antitumor activities of MCR were examined against three different tumor systems, i.e., EHRLICH ascites carcinoma, L1210 leukemia and LEWIS lung carcinoma. Daily intraperitoneal treatment with MCR for 5 days showed a strong inhibition against EHRLICH ascites carcinoma. Both single and repeated intraperitoneal injections of MCR were effective over a wide dose range against intraperitoneally inoculated L1210 leukemia and MCR intravenously administered was also active against intravenously inoculated L1210 leukemia. Daily local subcutaneous injections of MCR produced the prolongation of life span of mice to which LEWIS lung carcinoma was subcutaneously inoculated with some cured mice, but daily intraperitoneal injections of MCR showed no activity. Single intravenous administration of MCR inhibited early LEWIS lung carcinoma, but not advanced LEWIS lung carcinoma. The combination of MCR with aracytidine, or cyclophosphamide showed a synergistic activity against L1210 leukemia. MCR was not inactivated by treatment with serum, although neocarzinostatin was markedly inactivated by the same treatment.