CATIONIC AND WATER-CONTENT IN BLOOD, SKELETAL-MUSCLE AND LIVER OF FOOD RESTRICTED AND WALKER-256 TUMOR-BEARING RATS

Several metabolic similarities exist between food-restriction and tumo r cachexia, however, systematic studies correlating them have not been carried out yet, particularly concerning the content of cations and w ater in the tissues. The percentage of water and the content of the ma jor cations: Zn2+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na2+ and K+ were measured in the whole blood, skeletal muscles and the liver of the following rats: food-rest ricted (FR), Walker 256 tumor-bearing (TB) and food-restricted implant ed with tumor (FR-TB), The results were compared with those of the con trol group (C). The water content of the tissues was: C = FR < TB < FR -TB. The results of the cationic content of the tissues can be summari zed as follows: 1) food-restriction raised the content of calcium and magnesium in the whole blood and did not alter in muscular and hepatic tissues, 2) cancer cachexia provoked retention of bivalent cations (Z n2+, Ca2+ and Mg2+) in skeletal muscles and depletion in the liver, 3) these effects of tumor implantation were partially or totally reverse d due to the association with food-restriction.