Reversibility of acid and alkaline deoxyribonuclease deficiency in malignant tumor cells.

The nature of DNAse deficiency, which appears to be characteristic for malignant tumor cells, was investigated by the histochemical lead nitrate technique under various experimental conditions. Reappearance of distinct alkaline and acid DNAse activity was observed on the periphery of spontaneously occurring tumor necrosis, at early stages of the in vitro induced tumor necrosis, in necrotic tumor cells after in vivo irradiation and after in vitro treatment with different compounds. A membrane releaser did not reactivate DNAses in viable tumor cells, whereas the homogenate from tumor tissue inhibited DNAses in normal rat liver. These findings indicate that alkaline and acid DNAse deficiency in malignant tumor cells is a reversible phenomenon. This reversal of enzymatic activity has different histochemical and chronological patterns and specific reactivating factors for each DNAse. The masking effect of DNAse activity in malignant tumor cells is probably linked to natural enzyme inhibitors and its reversal to early stages of tumor necrosis.