Antitumor effect of k+/h+-antiporter nigericin on human lung-carcinoma grown in in-vivo-like histocultures.

Small shifts of intracellular pH (pH(i)) play a crucial role in many cellular functions, in particular progression through the cell cycle. We present results demonstrating that in the majority of cases, nigericin shows cytostatic effect on tumor cells in the in vivo-like 3-dimensional histocultures of human lung tissues while the normal tissue remains morphologically intact.