RNA, DNA and total protein levels in subcellular fractions of human brain tumors.

The intracellular distributions of the nucleic acids DNA and RNA and of total proteins were investigated in different types of human brain tumors and were compared with those of normal brain tissue. The tumor types studied were: meningioma, astrocytoma, and glioblastoma multiforme. Nucleic acids and total proteins were found to increase in the nuclear fraction of all tumoral tissues as compared with normal brain tissue. Another important finding is that the rate of the increase of these parameters is not proportional to the degree of malignancy of the tumor.