Growth-related changes of oxygen consumption rates of tumor cells grown in vitro and in vivo.

Growth-related changes of oxygen consumption rates of tumor cells, grown in vitro or in vivo, were investigated. For in vitro investigations, L929 and DS-carcinosarcoma cells were cultured in artificial media. For in vivo studies, DS-carcinosarcoma cells were implanted into the abdominal cavity of Sprague-Dawley rats (ascites tumor, containing malignant cells, leukocytes, lymphocytes, and macrophages). Oxygen uptake was measured photometrically. Parameters of the extracellular medium judged to possibly influence the respiratory activity of tumor cells were monitored at different growth stages (glucose, lactate, and amino acid levels, oxygen and carbon dioxide partial pressures, and pH values). The results obtained clearly show that the oxygen uptake of tumor cells grown in vitro decreased as quiescence developed. In contrast, the respiratory activity of in vivo DS-carcinosarcoma ascites cells increased as tumor growth reached plateau phase. The differences observed cannot be attributed solely to changes of the environmental conditions monitored. It is likely that an increased respiration rate of activated host cells might profoundly contribute to the elevation of the respiratory capacity of DS-carcinosarcoma ascites tumors grown in vivo. These data provide evidence that solid tumors in vivo can increase their O2 uptake at an enhanced O2 availability not only due to an enlarged tumor volume with adequate O2 supply but also due to an elevation of the respiratory activity of different cell populations within a tumor.