Action of Antibodies on Metabolism of Normal and Tumor Cells in vitro

Summary The O2 consumption of PF and KB cell suspensions cultivated in vitro and of Walker rat tumor and liver cells incubated with immune gamma globulins and complement, remains unchanged, while lactic acid production in aerobiosis by Walker tumor and liver cells, as a consequence of the action of anti-Walker gamma globulins and complement, shows a decrease. On the contrary, in the presence of specific antibodies and complement, an enhancement of aerobic glycolysis occurs in KB cells, while in PF cells no change is observed. It is suggested that some enzymatic systems may exhibit a different sensitivity to the altered metabolic exchanges occurring as a consequence of immune globulin adhesion to the cell surface.