The Isolation of L-Asparaginase and L-Serine Dehydratase from Bacteria

Abstract

Kidd 1953 first observed that certain transplanted lymphomas of mice and rats were strongly suppressed by treatment with guinea pig serum, and Broome 1961 provided evidence that L-asparaginase in the serum is the antitumoral factor. The finding by Mashburn and Wriston 1964 that L-asparaginase derived from Escherichia coli has antitumor activity similar to that of guinea pig serum opened up the possibility of large scale production of the enzyme for ultimate clinical trial.