[5-fluorouracil inhibits the collagenolytic activity of invasive colonic adenocarcinomas in vitro]

Abstract

By means of a biological assay for the enzyme collagenase the activity of this protease was examined in 12 invasive adenocarcinomas of the colon. In spite of considerable quantitative differences collagenolytic activity in the dimensions of 10(-3) units/mm theta tissue could be revealed in all cases. EDTA inhibited the reaction by 19%, normal human serum by 23% in the average, whereas 1,10-0-phenanthroline, D-penicillamine as well as the cytostatic 5-fluorouracil resulted in nearly total inhibition. It can be suggested that the activity of the colonic carcinoma is not derived from granulocytes, serum, or normal mucosa, but from the tumor itself. Contrasting to the limited inhibition by normal serum inhibitors, the enzyme is nearly fully inhibited by 5-fluorouracil.