Turkish Neurosurgery 2006 , Vol 16 , Num 2
Cytochrome Oxidase Activity and ATP Levels in High-Grade Gliomas and Meningiomas
Koray GÜMÜŞTAŞ1, Taner TANRIVERDİ2, Işık KULAKSIZ1, Ali Metin KAFADAR2, Galip Zihni SANUS2, Pınar ATUKEREN1, Mehmet Yaşar KAYNAR2
1Department of Biochemistry, Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty, Istanbul University, İstanbul, Turkey
2Department of Neurosurgery, Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty, Istanbul University, İstanbul, Turkey
OBJECTIVE: Malignant brain tumors have a diminished respiratory rate coupled with increased aerobic glycolysis when compared to low-grade brain tumors. However, there are a limited number of studies that compare the cytochrome oxidase activity and adenosine three-phosphate production in low and high-grade brain tumors.

METHODS: Here, we measured the activity of cytochrome oxidase and adenosine threephosphate production in high-grade brain tumors (9 patients), meningiomas (grade I, 10 patients), and normal brain tissues (10).

RESULTS: Cytochrome oxidase activity was markedly higher in high-grade gliomas than both meningiomas and controls. The difference between high-grade gliomas and meningiomas was statically significant (p = 0.0011). A statistically significant difference was also found between meningiomas and the control groups (p = 0.0002); however, no statistically significant difference was demonstrated between high-grade gliomas and the control group (p = 0.23). The mean level of adenosine three-phosphate was also higher than meningiomas and controls. Statistical calculation demonstrated the “p” value as 0.014 between the high-grade gliomas and meningiomas groups. When comparing highgrade gliomas and meningiomas to the control group, a statistically significant difference was found.

CONCLUSION: It is clear from these data that high-grade tumors have higher respiratory rate than low-grade tumors as evident by the increased enzyme activity and adenosine three-phosphate levels, suggesting that a treatment regimen targeted towards the energy metabolism of brain tumors may be beneficial. Keywords : ATP, Brain tumors, Cytochrome oxidase, Gliomas, Meningiomas

Corresponding author : Mehmet Yaşar Kaynar, mykaynar@istanbul.edu.tr