Synopsis
A new micro-method was used to study the degradation of the intercellular matrix of rat xiphoid cartilage. It involved the use of cryostat-cut, unfixed sections in micro-incubation chambers on microscope slides and an analysis of their stainability with Toluidine Blue by microdensitometry. A purified lysosomal preparation isolated from a transplantable malignant tumour of the rat (Guerin T8) was found to be capable of causing matrix degradation in addition to that produced by the activity of endogenous cartilage enzymes. This exogenous activity was time, temperature and pH dependent: activity was optimal in the region of pH 5 but appreciable activity was also observed at pH 6 and pH 7. An antiserum to the lysosomal preparation inhibited endogenous degradation and degradation produced by the tumour's lysosomes. The significance of these findings is discussed in relation to invasive tumour growth, which is thought to involve the extracellular destructive activity of these enzymes.
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Poole, A.R. The degradation of cartilage matrix by a lysosomal preparation, isolated from a malignant tumour, and its inhibition by an antiserum to this preparation. Histochem J 2, 431–439 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01004724
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01004724