Mice bearing the S-180
sarcoma displayed a depression of liver
catalase and
cytochrome P-450-dependent
enzymes (
ethoxycoumarin deethylase, ED) from day 6 following
tumor implantation. Injection of serum obtained from
tumor-bearing mice into normal mice caused depression of liver ED suggesting that a circulating factor was involved.
Tumor-bearing mice did not show any significant change in serum
triglycerides and food intake. By contrast, injection of
endotoxin,
interleukin-1 (IL-1) or
tumor necrosis factor (TNF) caused not only a depression in liver ED but also a marked increase in serum
triglycerides. To study the possible analogies between
cancer-associated circulating factor and
monokines, we studied the effect of
dexamethasone (a known inhibitor of monokine synthesis) on liver ED activity in
tumor-bearing mice.
Dexamethasone (DEX) treatment increased (up to 60%) liver ED activity in
tumor-bearing mice. We conclude that: (i) a circulating factor is involved in
cancer-associated ED depression; (ii) that this mediator is not necessarily identical to TNF or
IL-1 and (iii) that DEX reverses the depression of liver ED in
cancer, possibly by inhibiting the synthesis, or the effects, of this factor.