AMINO-ACID ALCOHOLS - GROWTH-INHIBITION AND INDUCTION OF DIFFERENTIATED FEATURES IN MELANOMA-CELLS

The effects of a series of D- and L-amino acid alcohols on the prolife ration and phenotypic expression of B16 mouse melanoma cells were eval uated. B16 melanoma cells were incubated for different time intervals in the presence of D- or L-phenylalaninol (PHE), D- or L-alaninol (AL) , D- or L-leucinol (LE), L-histidinol (HIS), L-tyrosinol (TYR) and L-m ethioninol (MET). All agents, including the D or L configuration, indu ced an antiproliferative effect, although of considerably different ma gnitude. D-PHE was the most active growth inhibitor. The growth inhibi tory effects were accompanied by phenotypic alterations, which include d morphological changes and enhancement in the activities of NADPH cyt ochrome c reductase and tau-glutamyl transpeptidase. These phenotypic alterations correlated with the growth inhibitory effects of the diffe rent agents and seem to reflect a higher differentiated state.