Comparison of activities, electrophoretic patterns and kinetic properties of some enzymes in normal and cancerous liver

Abstract

Glucose present in tissues is metabolised either by means of glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, glycogenesis or glycogenolysis, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Glycolysis occurs in almost all tissues, whereas gluconeogenesis is restricted mainly to liver and kidney cortex; the synthesis and degradation of glycogen takes place mainly in liver, skeletal muscle and heart. The patterns of carbohydrate metabolism characteristic of normal tissue are often altered in various diseased states; this is particularly evident in cancer. Tumour tissues, such as hepatoma, appear to lose the functional properties of adult differentiated tissue and their metabolism often seems to resemble that of rapidly-dividing, undifferentiated foetal tissue.