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Biomedical subjects

M A Shibata

Publications and source records attributed to M A Shibata.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Progression of prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia to invasive carcinoma in C3(1)/SV40 large T antigen transgenic mice: histopathological and molecular biological alterations.

The progression of prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) to invasive prostate carcinoma has been analyzed in the C3(1)/T(AG) transgenic mouse model and appears very similar to the process proposed to occur in humans. PIN lesions in these transgenic mice histologically resemble those found in human PIN. Low-grade PIN was observed in the ventral and dorsolateral lobes at 2 months of age, whereas high-grade PIN was found in both lobes by 5 months of age. A progressive increase in the number of PIN lesions was observed with age. Prostate carcinomas, which appeared to arise from PIN lesions, were found by 7 months of age in the ventral lobe and 11 months of age in the dorsolateral lobe. Expression of T(AG) mRNA and protein in these lesions correlated with the development of PIN and carcinomas, as did the overexpression of p53 protein. Apoptosis levels were quite low in normal epithelial cells, moderate in low-grade PIN, and high in high-grade PIN and carcinomas. Levels of expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen correlated with the degree of severity of the prostate lesions. Eighteen % of PIN lesions were found to already harbor Ha-ras mutations, whereas 33% of carcinomas showed various mutations in Ha-ras, Ki-ras, and/or p53. Mutations in Ha-ras may, therefore, be an early event in a significant portion of PIN lesions. Because high-grade PIN showed many characteristics similar to those observed in carcinomas and high-grade PIN was often found contiguous to carcinomas, we conclude that high-grade PIN is a precursor lesion of prostate carcinoma in this transgenic model. These transgenic mice will be useful to study mechanisms responsible for the progression of invasive carcinomas from PIN precursor lesions, as may occur during the development of prostate cancer in humans.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Lack of tumor promoting effects of KCB-1, a recombinant human basic fibroblast growth factor, on two-stage skin carcinogenesis in female CD-1 (ICR) mice.

Skin tumor promoting and co-promoting potentials of KCB-1, a recombinant human basic fibroblast growth factor, were investigated in a two-stage skin carcinogenesis model using female ICR mice. Animals were allocated to either normal (non-injured) or injured skin groups, and given a single topical application of dimethylbenz[alpha]anthracene (DMBA) at 100 micrograms/mouse to fur-clipped back skin. One week after the DMBA initiation step, mice were injected with KCB-1 (0.4, 4.0 and 40 micrograms/mouse, s.c.) and/or 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) at 4.0 micrograms/mouse twice a week until the termination at week 20. The treatment with KCB-1 was not associated with any increases of papillomas and hyperplasias in either the normal or the wounded skin cases. High incidences and multiplicities of skin papillomas and hyperplasias developed in TPA-treated groups. The positive control TPA promotion was not influenced by the KCB-1 treatment in the present initiation/promotion protocol. Thus, KCB-1 exerted no tumor promoting effects on mouse skin two-stage carcinogenesis, and also no amplification activity for the established skin tumor promoter TPA.

9,10-Dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene↗
PubMed1996

p53-independent apoptosis during mammary tumor progression in C3(1)/SV40 large T antigen transgenic mice: suppression of apoptosis during the transition from preneoplasia to carcinoma.

Alterations in apoptosis and associated mechanisms during mammary tumor progression were investigated in transgenic mice expressing the SV40 large T antigen (T(AG)) driven by the rat prostatic steroid-binding protein C3(1) 5'-flanking region. Apoptosis levels, assessed by in situ end labeling, were low in normal mammary epithelial cells, highest in atypical hyperplasias (preneoplastic lesions), and less pronounced in adenocarcinomas. Preneoplastic cells maintain the ability to undergo apoptosis as a mechanism of tumor growth suppression, but this critical control of apoptosis is lost as these lesions progress to carcinomas. These alterations in apoptosis occur during mammary tumor progression in mice containing wild-type p53+/+ genotype as well as in mice with the p53-/- genotype. Thus, apoptosis in this tumor model occurs through a p53-independent mechanism. Because other studies have demonstrated p53-dependent apoptosis in T(AG)-induced choroid plexus tumors of transgenic mice, we propose that the role of p53 in apoptosis may be tissue-specific. In addition, bcl-2 protein was not expressed in any mammary lesions. SV40 T(AG) expression, which correlated with the nuclear p53 protein at all stages of tumor progression, was low in normal mammary epithelial cells, moderately high in atypical hyperplasias, and strongly expressed in adenocarcinomas. No p53 mutations were found at any stage of mammary adenocarcinoma development, suggesting that tumor progression does not require a dominantly acting p53 mutation in this transgenic model. p2l(Waf1/Cip1), a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, was expressed in normal mammary tissue but was not detected in the mammary carcinomas, despite high nuclear accumulation of wild-type p53 protein, suggesting functional loss of p53 due to binding of SV40 T(AG), to p53. These findings suggest that suppression of apoptosis during the transition from atypical hyperplasia to adenocarcinoma appears to be a critical event for mammary cancer development in C3(1)/T(AG) transgenic mice and occurs by p53- and bcl-2-independent pathways.

Androgen-Binding Protein↗
PubMed1996

Non-carcinogenicity of 2,2'--(4-aminophenyl)imino-bisethanol sulfate in a long-term feeding study in Fischer 344 rats.

2,2'-[(4-aminophenyl)imino]bisethanol sulfate (4APE) was administered at dietary levels of 0 (control), 300, 1000 and 3000 ppm to groups of 50 male and 50 female Fischer 344/DuCrj rats for 104 wk. As slight body weight retardation was observed in the male 3000 ppm group in the preliminary 13-wk feeding study, this dose was selected for the highest exposure level. Mean body weights of both sexes in the 3000 ppm group were lower than those of the controls from wk 2 to termination. However, there were no treatment-related clinical signs or adverse effects on survival rate, food consumption or haematology data. Very slight but statistically significant increases in relative thyroid weights were found in males of the 3000 ppm group, but there was no significant treatment-related increase in the incidence of any non-neoplastic or neoplastic lesions. Thus, under the experimental conditions used, 4APE was not carcinogenic in Fischer 344 rats of either sex.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Cancer induction by an organic arsenic compound, dimethylarsinic acid (cacodylic acid), in F344/DuCrj rats after pretreatment with five carcinogens.

Arsenic (As) is environmentally ubiquitous and an epidemiologically significant chemical related to certain human cancers. Dimethylarsinic acid (cacodylic acid; DMA) is one of the major methylated metabolites of ingested arsenicals in most mammals. To evaluate the effects of DMA on chemical carcinogenesis, we conducted a multiorgan bioassay in rats given various doses of DMA. One-hundred twenty-four male F344/DuCrj rats were divided randomly into 7 groups (20 rats each for groups 1-5; 12 rats each for groups 6 and 7). To initiate multiple organs and tissues, animals in groups 1-5 were treated sequentially with diethylnitrosamine (100 mg/kg body weight, i.p., single dose at the commencement) and N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (20 mg/kg body weight, i.p., 4 times, on days 5, 8, 11, and 14). Thereafter, rats received 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (40 mg/kg body weight, s.c., 4 times, on days 18, 22, 26, and 30). During the same period, the animals were sequentially administered N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl)nitrosamine (0.05% in the drinking water, during weeks 1 and 2) and N-bis(2-hydroxypropyl)nitrosamine (0.1% in the drinking water, during weeks 3 and 4; DMBDD treatment). After a 2-week interval, groups 2-5 were given 50, 100, 200, or 400 ppm DMA, respectively, in the drinking water. Groups 6 and 7, which were not given DMBDD treatment, received 100 and 400 ppm DMA during weeks 6-30. All rats were killed at the end of week 30. In the initiated groups (groups 1-5), DMA significantly enhanced the tumor induction in the urinary bladder, kidney, liver, and thyroid gland, with respective incidences in group 5 (400 ppm DMA) being 80, 65, 65, and 45%. Induction of preneoplastic lesions (glutathione S-transferase placental form-positive foci in the liver and atypical tubules in the kidney) was also significantly increased in DMA-treated groups. Ornithine decarboxylase activity in the kidneys of rats treated with 100 ppm DMA was significantly increased compared with control values (P < 0.001). In conclusion, DMA is acting as a promoter of urinary bladder, kidney, liver, and thyroid gland carcinogenesis in rats, and we speculate that this may be related to cancer induction by As in humans.

Acetyltransferases↗
PubMed1995

Lack of carcinogenicity of monosodium L-glutamate in Fischer 344 rats.

Monosodium L-glutamate (MSG) was administered to groups of 50 male and 50 female Fischer 344 rats in the diet at levels of 0, 0.6, 1.25, 2.5 and 5.0% for a 2-yr period. Survival of dosed and control rats of both sexes was comparable, although animals receiving 5.0% MSG showed a trend towards (or significant) growth retardation. Urinary biochemistry values indicated increased pH and Na+ levels and decreased K+ in rats of both sexes given 2.5 or 5.0%. However, no significant increases in proliferative or neoplastic lesion development in the urinary tract were observed in any MSG-treated animals. In addition, occurrences of neoplastic lesions in other organs did not differ between treated and control groups. The present study thus did not demonstrate any long-term carcinogenic effect of MSG administered to rats at levels up to 5.0% in the diet.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Modification by analgesics of lesion development in the urinary tract and various other organs of rats pretreated with dihydroxy-di-N-propylnitrosamine and uracil.

Effects of the analgesics phenacetin, acetaminophen and antipyrine on lesion development in the urinary tract and other organs in male F344 rats were investigated. Animals were concurrently administered with 0.1% dihydroxy-di-N-propylnitrosamine (DHPN) in drinking water and 3.0% uracil in the diet for 4 weeks and then, starting 1 week after the cessation of this treatment, received basal diet or diet containing phenacetin, acetaminophen or antipyrine for 35 weeks. The occurrences of renal cell tumors were increased in the groups given phenacetin or antipyrine, as compared with the DHPN + uracil alone controls. Antipyrine, but not the two other compounds, also enhanced development of hyperplastic lesions in the renal pelvis and ureter. In the urinary bladder, phenacetin and antipyrine treatments were both associated with increased incidence of preneoplastic or neoplastic lesions. Furthermore, phenacetin alone, without the initiating agent pretreatments, induced simple hyperplasias of the urinary bladder at high incidence. Antipyrine enhanced induction of hyperplastic lesions in the ureter and was also found to increase the incidences of preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions in the liver. Although decreased incidences of tumor development of lung and thyroid were observed for the group given phenacetin, this might have been linked to the decreased weight gain. The results confirmed that combination treatment with DHPN + uracil is effective for wide-spectrum initiation of carcinogenesis in the urological tract and demonstrated significant modification potential for both phenacetin and antipyrine.

Acetaminophen↗
PubMed1994

Progressive growth of rat bladder carcinomas after exposure to prolonged uracil-induced urolithiasis.

Dietary uracil at the 3% level induces urinary bladder tumors in rats through urolithiasis-dependent mechanical irritation. In the present study, comparison of lesions induced by uracil administration over the different periods of 36 weeks (middle-term) and up to 103 weeks (long-term) revealed significant elevation of both incidences and multiplicity of transitional cell carcinomas (TCCs) in the long-term group. Histopathological assessment in terms of tumor biology further demonstrated significantly higher grading on the basis of the degree of cellular and structural atypia, and greater depth of invasion in the long-term group. Application of markers for cell proliferation activities including proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and silver-binding nucleolar organizer regions (AgNORs) also revealed significantly elevated AgNOR counts in the long-term group TCC. AgNOR counts and PCNA rates in TCCs showed relation to the histological grades. Thus the present study demonstrated that prolonged uracil-induced urolithiasis causes more biologically aggressive bladder carcinomas with invasive potential. Continuous stimulation of cell proliferation presumably has the potential to facilitate multiple genetic alterations leading to development of more malignant carcinomas. However, it should be borne in mind that the difference in bladder cancer development might also be related to the fact that the animals survived longer and that the early lesions therefore had more time to progress to more advanced stages.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

DNA methylation adduct formation and H-ras gene mutations in progression of N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl)nitrosamine-induced bladder tumors caused by a single exposure to N-methyl-N-nitrosourea.

After receiving 500 p.p.m. N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl) nitrosamine (BBN) in their drinking water for an initial 10 weeks, rats were given a single i.p. injection of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) at a dose of 50 mg/kg body wt at week 20 (at a stage when bladder tumor development had already occurred), and then maintained until they were killed at week 40. Three and six hours after the MNU injection, the DNA methylation adducts, O6-methyldeoxyguanine (O6-medG) and 7-methyldeoxyguanine (7-medG), were immunohistochemically revealed to be markedly more frequent in urothelial preneoplasias or neoplasias than in normal cells. These adducts were rapidly repaired, and although 7-dmeG in tumor cells still persisted after 72 h, they appeared essentially to have returned to normal levels. At the termination, conversion of transitional cell carcinomas (TCC) to squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) of the urinary bladder was significantly increased in the BBN+MNU group. The extent of invasion was also significantly greater with the additional MNU treatment. Expression of p21 protein, detected by immunohistochemistry, was comparable between the groups. Mutations in the H-ras gene were observed in one case each of the BBN and BBN+MNU groups, and both cases showed a G:C to A:T transition at codon 12. The present study thus suggested that while an additional single treatment with MNU of rats bearing BBN-induced bladder neoplasias is associated with significant, possibly mutation-dependent tumor progression, H-ras mutations are not necessary events.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1993

Chemoprevention by indomethacin of tumor promotion in a rat urinary bladder carcinogenesis model.

The chemopreventive effects of indomethacin (IM) on the enhancement of bladder carcinogenesis and transitional-epithelial-cell proliferation by butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) or sodium L-ascorbate (Na-AsA) were investigated. All animals were given 0.05% N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl)nitrosamine (BBN) in their drinking water for 4 weeks. They then received 2% BHA or 5% Na-AsA for 20 weeks, followed by 20 ppm IM in the drinking water or normal tap water without supplement for a further 20 weeks, or BHA or Na-AsA alone or concomitantly with IM for 40 weeks. No differences in bladder-tumor development were found when IM was administered after cessation of BHA or Na-AsA exposure. However, IM in combination with either BHA or Na-AsA significantly reduced both the incidence and the multiplicity of papillomas and carcinomas as compared with the values of groups receiving BHA or Na-AsA alone. This was associated with decreased DNA synthesis and prostaglandin (PG) E2 levels in the existing bladder tumors. Combined treatment with IM did not exert any effects on BHA forestomach carcinogenesis. A separate 8-week combination study demonstrated that IM diminished the increase in expression of proliferation nuclear-cell antigen (PCNA) induced by BHA or Na-AsA alone. The present results suggest that PGE2 may be involved in promotion of rat bladder carcinogenesis and that the PG synthesis blocker IM might exert preventive effects on the development of bladder cancer in humans.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Inhibition by dehydroepiandrosterone of butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) promotion of rat-bladder carcinogenesis and enhancement of BHA-induced forestomach hyperplasia.

The effects of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) with/without ribonucleoside (RNs) supplementation on butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) bladder-tumor promotion and forestomach carcinogenesis were investigated. Male F344 rats were given N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl)nitrosamine (BBN) in their drinking water for 4 weeks and then received basal diet or diet containing BHA, DHEA, a mixture of RNs, BHA + DHEA or BHA + DHEA + RNs for 32 weeks. The occurrences of papillomas and carcinomas in the urinary bladder were increased in the groups given BHA or BHA + DHEA + RNs, as compared with control group values. In comparison with the BHA group, the BHA + DHEA group incidences and numbers of these tumors were decreased. However, the incidence and multiplicity of papillomas in the group given BHA + DHEA + RNs were again elevated. DNA synthesis levels in normal-appearing bladder epithelium, but not tumor cells, were closely correlated with the observed level of promotion in most groups. The case of DHEA alone proved exceptional in that DNA synthesis was markedly decreased without any significant influence on lesion development. In the forestomach, DHEA, which itself was associated with slight although non-significant hyperplasia, enhanced BHA-induced epithelial lesions, characterized by marked basal-cell proliferation and keratin-cyst formation, independently of additional RNs administration. Our results suggest that the anti-promoting effects of DHEA in the bladder depend on a deficiency in the pentose phosphates necessary for production of nucleosides. Organ-specific modulation is indicated by the enhancing effects of DHEA on BHA-induced forestomach hyperplasia.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Modifying influence of prior treatment with toxic agents on induction of preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions in a medium-term multi-organ carcinogenesis bioassay.

The modifying potential of prior administration of toxic agents was investigated in our multi-organ carcinogenesis model using male F344/DuCrj rats with the aim of assessing the link between tissue damage and initiation. Animals were administered one of four toxic agents for 8 wk, and then treated with N-diethylnitrosamine (DEN, 100 mg/kg body weight (b.w.), intraperitoneally (i.p.), single injection), N-methylnitrosourea (MNU, 20 mg/kg b.w., i.p., four times during wk 9 and 10), and dihydroxy-di-N-propylnitrosamine (DHPN, 0.1% in drinking water, during wk 11 and 12) for multi-organ carcinogenesis. All surviving rats were killed at the end of wk 36, and the major organs carefully examined for preneoplastic and neoplastic lesion development. Immunohistochemical demonstration of glutathione S-transferase placental form (GST-P) positive foci was also performed to facilitate quantitative assessment of liver lesion development. D-galactosamine (300 mg/kg b.w., i.p., once a week), a hepatotoxin, significantly inhibited the induction of GST-P positive foci, while 4,4'-diaminodiphenylmethane (DDPM, 0.1% in diet), a bile duct proliferator which is itself a hepatocarcinogen, possessed enhancing activity. DDPM, also a goitrogen, clearly inhibited the development of follicular cell tumors in the thyroid. Uracil (3.0% in diet), which is an inducer of papillomatosis in the urinary bladder, did not exert any enhancing potential on bladder carcinogenesis. Bleomycin (2 mg/kg b.w., i.p., twice a week), which is an alveolar epithelium injuring agent, also did not modify the induction of alveolar epithelium proliferative lesions. These results indicate that prior organ injury by toxic agents does not always act to enhance sensitivity to carcinogenesis.

Aniline Compounds↗
PubMed1993

Epithelia hyperplasia in the renal papilla and pelvis but not the urinary bladder of male F344 rats associated with dietary sodium phosphates after uracil exposure.

Effects of the bladder tumor promoter Na3PO4 and the non-bladder-tumor promoter NaH2PO4 on development of hyperplastic lesions of urinary bladder and renal papilla/pelvis were investigated after exposure of male F344 rats to the nongenotoxic carcinogen uracil. Animals were administered with 3.0% uracil in the diet for 4 weeks and thereafter fed 3.0% Na3PO4 or 3.0% NaH2PO4 for 32 weeks. No enhancing effect of either phosphate salt on uracil-induced proliferative lesions of urinary bladder was observed. However, the sequential treatments gave rise to enhanced development of hyperplastic lesions in the renal papilla/pelvis compared to the case with uracil alone. In addition, a small number of renal pelvic papillomas were observed in the group given Na3PO4 after uracil. These phosphate salts also induced nephrocalcinosis in the papilla/pelvis concomitant with development of renal hyperplastic lesions in this location. A sequential study revealed calculus formation and proliferative lesions in both the urinary bladder and renal papilla/pelvis after 4 weeks dietary application of uracil. After cessation, calculi disappeared and the majority of hyperplastic lesions regressed, consistent with a decrease in DNA synthesis levels. Persistence of uracil-induced epithelial hyperplasia in renal papilla/pelvis under the influence of phosphate salts might have been directly due to chronic stimulation by nephrocalcinosis in these sites.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Subchronic toxicity study of methyl hesperidin in mice.

A subchronic toxicity study of methyl hesperidin was performed using B6C3F1 mice. The flavonoid was administered to groups of ten males and ten females in dietary levels of 0, 0.3, 0.6, 1.25, 2.5 and 5.0% for 13 weeks. No significant treatment-related differences were found in data for body weights, food and water consumption, hematology, clinical chemistry and organ weights. Furthermore, no effects of treatment were observed on gross and histopathological examination of the major organs. The present experiment thus demonstrated that methyl hesperidin exerts no obvious toxic effects in mice of either sex when administered at a level as high as 5.0% in the diet.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1993

Enhancing effect of concomitant L-ascorbic acid administration on BHA-induced forestomach carcinogenesis in rats.

The effects of the synthetic antioxidant butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and naturally occurring antioxidants such as L-ascorbic acid (AsA; vitamin C), citric acid, benzoic acid or gallic acid in combination, on the development of rat forestomach epithelial lesions were investigated. A dietary level of 2.0% was selected for all antioxidants and the experimental period was 1 year. As compared with BHA alone, treatment with AsA in combination with BHA increased the severity of the hyperplasia in the mid-region, but not in the prefundic region of the forestomach epithelium, as well as the multiplicity of forestomach tumors. Furthermore, incidences of squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) in the forestomach were significantly elevated in this group, while papilloma development only showed a tendency to increase. In addition, SCC invasion into the muscle layer of the forestomach was observed only in the BHA + AsA group. Treatment with the other antioxidants did not affect BHA-induced forestomach lesion development. The present study demonstrated that AsA can clearly enhance BHA forestomach carcinogenesis.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Modification of BHA forestomach carcinogenesis in rats: inhibition by diethylmaleate or indomethacin and enhancement by a retinoid.

The long-term effects of butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), in combination with various other chemicals on the development of forestomach lesions in rats were investigated. BHA is a synthetic antioxidant, and the other agents included the glutathione-depleting agent diethylmaleate (DEM), the anti-inflammatory drugs indomethacin (IM), dexamethazone (DEX), 6-aminocaproic acetate (6-ACA) and FOY (gabexate mesilate), and the vitamin all-trans-retinol acetate (RA). Concurrent treatment with BHA (1% in diet) and DEM, IM, DEX or FOY for 52 weeks inhibited development of forestomach epithelial hyperplasia as compared to BHA alone, while simultaneous treatment with RA enhanced hyperplastic development. However, the inhibition by DEX or FOY was only partial and in the DEX case, in particular, might have been due to weight loss. Since the most effective inhibitory influence on BHA-induced forestomach lesions exerted in this 1-year experiment was by DEM, a further 2-year experiment was conducted to confirm whether DEM actually can exert inhibitory effects on BHA (2% in diet)-induced forestomach carcinogenesis. The results demonstrated that induction of forestomach hyperplasias and papillomas by BHA was significantly reduced by combination treatment with DEM. Both multiplicity and incidence of forestomach papillomas were significantly decreased, while squamous cell carcinoma development showed a tendency for decrease only.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Influence of aging on multi-organ carcinogenesis in rats induced by N-methyl-N-nitrosourea.

The effects of aging on the multi-organ carcinogenesis induced in rats by N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU), a direct carcinogen which does not need metabolic activation to exert carcinogenicity, were examined in male F344 rats. In the first experiment, rats at 6, 52, and 98 weeks of age were treated with MNU (20 mg/kg body weight, i.p.) twice weekly for 6 weeks and then maintained without any further treatment for 24 weeks in the case of young and middle-aged rats and for 18 weeks in the case of the old rats. In young rats, malignant lymphomas, particularly thymic types, were observed at significantly high incidence. A striking result in the middle-aged rats was the significantly higher incidence of adenocarcinomas in the small intestine than in young or old animals. The induction of proliferative and neoplastic lesions of the large intestine also tended to be increased in middle-aged rats. In addition, epithelial hyperplasia of the tongue, but not the forestomach, occurred at the highest incidence in the middle-aged group. There were no differences in the induction of epithelial lesions in the urinary bladder among the groups. In a second experiment, investigation of DNA synthesis in the tongue, small and large intestines, urinary bladder and lymph nodes did reveal significant increases or tendency for increase in the MNU-treated groups, but without differences with age. In contrast, the thymus of young rats showed significantly increased incorporation of BrdU label after administration of MNU, whereas it was markedly reduced in middle-aged rats. In a third experiment, O6-methyldeoxyguanine (O6-medG) DNA adduct formation was immunohistochemically detected in various organs including the thymus, forestomach, and small intestine without any differences with age. Thus, the results demonstrated that while the target organs of MNU are modified by the age of the animals, levels of DNA synthesis and O6-medG DNA adduct formation in most cases can not explain the observed differences in carcinogenic susceptibility.

Adenocarcinoma↗