Hyperammonemia and anorexia in Morris hepatoma-bearing rats.
Inoculation of Buffalo rats with Morris hepatoma produced significant anorexia within four weeks and reduced body weight within two weeks. Blood ammonia concentration was increased by 113% when the rats were euthanized, five days after the development of anorexia. Infusing ammonium salts into normal Buffalo rats also induced anorexia at a blood ammonia concentration comparable to that observed in the tumor-bearing rats. Although ammonia-infused rats exhibited expected increases in brain tyrosine, tryptophan, and metabolites of dopamine and serotonin, these alterations were attenuated in the tumor-bearing rats. These results indicate that hyperammonemia may be a general consequence of experimental cancer and that the increase in ammonia concentration may be of primary importance in the development of experimental cancer-induced anorexia. The rather small alterations in neurotransmitter metabolism in anorectic tumor-bearing rats deemphasize the role aberrations in DA and 5-HT systems in the development of experimental cancer anorexia.
Department of Surgery, University of Cincinnati Medical Center, OH.
W T
WT
Chance
F H
FH
Zhang
T
T
Foley-Nelson
J E
JE
Fischer
D000641:Ammonia / Q000097:blood*; D000818:Animals; D000855:Anorexia / Q000097:blood*; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D002100:Cachexia / Q000097:blood; D008114:Liver Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000097:blood*; D009368:Neoplasm Transplantation; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D011915:Rats, Inbred BUF
D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents; D000641:Ammonia