[Intracellular effect of hydroxyalkenals on animal tumors (author's transl)].

When incubated for 30 min in vitro, 4-hydroxyalkenals in a 5 x 10-3 M solution react with SH-groups of soluble cytoplasmic and nuclear proteins (ProtL-SH) of Morris hepatomas 9618 A and 5123 tc, and of Ehrlich ascites tumor (EAT) cells. The extent of the reaction strongly increases with decreasing doubling time of the respective tumors. Former experiments with EAT cells have shown that the reaction with cytoplasmic ProtL-SH causes inhibition of respiration, glycolysis, and probably of other SH-controlled processes associated with cell division. The intranuclear reaction leads to an inhibition of DNA- and RNA-synthesis. In a 2 x 10-4 M solution of hydroxyalkenals, however, the reaction with cytoplasmic ProtL-SH diminishes almost completely so that no measurable inhibition of respiration and only 3% inhibition of glycolysis are observed, while 20 to 30 percent of the nuclear ProtL-SH are still blocked. This corresponds well with a previous observation that a 2 x 10-4 M solution of hydroxypentenal inhibits DNA-synthesis by 90 percent.