The Biology of CNAPS

Although nucleic acids have been known to circulate in the blood since 1948 their biology has been studied only since the 1960s. This chapter contains discussion of (a) the presence of DNA and RNA circulating in human plasma and serum from both healthy individuals and patients, (b) the amounts of DNA/RNA present together with the variables affecting these amounts, (c) possible sources of the DNA/RNA in blood and (d) the ability of the circulating nucleic acids to enter other cells and to modify the biology of the recipient cells. The relationship of the DNA from cancer patients is considered with respect to the formation of metastases.