A study of the Crabtree effect in Novikoff ascites-hepatoma cells.

Novikoff ascites-hepatoma cells show no Crabtree effect on the addition of glucose to tumour-cell suspensions, and convert a significant part of the added glucose into glycogen. Treatment of the cells with 2-deoxyglucose or glucose in the presence of iodoacetate inhibits respiration and decreases glycogen synthesis from glucose. Short-term experiments indicate a slight inhibition of glucose uptake for a brief period, due either to ATP accumulation in the mitochondria or to glucose 6-phosphate-mediated inhibition of hexokinase. Utilization of glucose metabolites and ATP for glycogen synthesis appears to remove inhibition of glucose uptake, and perhaps accounts for the absence of respiratory inhibition, by relieving a deficiency of ADP for the mitochondria. Decreased respiration in the presence of 2-deoxyglucose or glucose in the presence of iodoacetate could be due to the change in mitochondrial structure or permeability, caused by the significant loss of adenine nucleotides.