Implanted Tumour Growth in Mice exposed to Continuous Centrifugation

Abstract

BECAUSE of the known effects of high gravity on normal growth, and of other associated effects which might influence a tumour-host relationship, 5-week-old, Swiss Webster mice bearing transplanted sarcoma 180 tumours were subjected to continuous centrifugation simulating high-intensity gravitational fields. Experiments with several living forms have demonstrated that a gravitational field influences growth mechanisms and their control^1,2. Continuous exposure of mice to centrifugation can produce a retardation of normal growth. Initial exposure induces a decrement in food intake³ and in body mass followed by a gradual but usually incomplete recovery⁴. There are other effects such as changes in relative dimensions of the adrenal gland, spleen, and femur bone^1,2,5. (It should be appreciated, however, that some of these changes might not be meaningful as relative organ sizes vary with stage of development⁶.) Both the spleen and the adrenal gland have been implicated in the tumour–host relationship⁷. Also a decreased caloric intake, characteristic of animals exposed to centrifugation, has been reported by many workers to retard the growth of transplanted tumours in experimental animals. This is reviewed by White⁸.