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R R Maronpot

Publications and source records attributed to R R Maronpot.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Subchronic toxicity studies of t-butyl alcohol in rats and mice.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the toxicity of t-butyl alcohol, an important commodity chemical, an additive to unleaded gasoline, and a contaminant of drinking water. Ninety-day toxicity studies were conducted in B6C3F1 mice and Fischer 344 (F344) rats of both sexes using dosed water. Dose levels of t-butyl alcohol were 0, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, and 4% (w/v). Lethality was observed at the 4% level of both sexes and species. Weight-gain depression was present in all dose levels of male rats; 4% female rats; 1, 2, and 4% male mice; and 2 and 4% female mice. Water consumption was increased at lower dose levels in male rats and decreased in the higher dose levels of both sexes of rats and female mice. Clinical signs in rats were ataxia in both sexes and hypoactivity in males. Clinical signs in mice were ataxia, abnormal posture, and hypoactivity. In rats, urine volumes were reduced, in association with crystalluria. Gross lesions at necropsy were urinary tract calculi, renal pelvic and ureteral dilatation, and thickening of the urinary bladder mucosa. Microscopic lesions were hyperplasia of transitional epithelia and inflammation of the urinary bladder. In male rats treated with t-butyl alcohol, microscopic renal changes were suggestive of alpha-2 mu-globulin nephropathy. No-effect levels for the urinary tract lesions were 1% in male rats and mice (803.7 mg/kg/day for the male rats and 1565.8 mg/kg/day for the male mice) and 2% in female rats and mice (1451.5 mg/kg/day for the female rats and 4362.9 mg/kg/day for the female mice). The results indicate that in rodents the urinary tract is the target organ for t-butyl alcohol toxicity, and males are more sensitive to t-butyl alcohol toxicity than females.

Animals↗

Proto-oncogene activation in liver tumors of hepatocarcinogenesis-resistant strains of mice.

Activation of the ras family of oncogenes occurs frequently in liver tumors of the B6C3F1 mouse, a strain which is highly sensitive to hepatocarcinogenesis. Many other mouse strains are much more resistant to hepatocarcinogenesis; the aim of this study was to determine the frequency and pattern of oncogene activation in spontaneous and chemically induced liver tumors of three such strains, the C57BL/6J, the C57BL/6 x DBA/2 F1 hybrid (B6D2F1) and the C57BL/6 x Balb/c F1 hybrid (B6BCF1). The C57BL/6, DBA/2 and Balb/c strains are all relatively resistant to spontaneous hepatocarcinogenesis (1.5-3.6% of animals develop liver tumors in 2 years); with regard to chemically induced hepatocarcinogenesis the Balb/c is highly resistant, the C57BL/6 has low susceptibility and the DBA/2 has low to moderate susceptibility. The nude mouse tumorigenicity assay was used to search for activated oncogenes in 15 C57BL/6J liver tumors induced by a single neonatal dose of vinyl carbamate (VC, 0.15 mumol/g body weight). Three tumors contained H-ras genes activated by point mutations at codon 61 and one contained a non-ras oncogene. The polymerase chain reaction and allele-specific oligonucleotide hybridization were used to study H-ras mutations in spontaneous and VC-induced tumors from all three strains of mice. The frequency of H-ras codon 61 mutations in tumors induced by 0.15 mumol/g body weight VC in the C57BL/6J mouse (5/37) was similar to that in spontaneous tumors (2/9); surprisingly, tumors induced by a lower dose of VC (0.03 mumol/g body weight) had a higher frequency of H-ras mutations (12/28). The frequencies of H-ras activation detected in VC (0.03 mumol/g body weight)-induced tumors from the two F1 hybrids studied differed markedly. Only one VC-induced B6BCF1 tumor contained a mutated H-ras gene (1/10), whereas the majority of B6D2F1 tumors contained such mutations (23/33). Several spontaneous B6D2F1 liver tumors contained H-ras codon 61 mutations (6/15). Thus, H-ras activation frequency does not determine susceptibility to hepatocarcinogenesis in inbred mice and their F1 hybrids, since a relatively high frequency of H-ras mutations was observed in two resistant strains and a low frequency was found in the other strain.

3T3 Cells↗

Characterization of the promotion of altered hepatic foci by 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin in the female rat.

Previous studies have suggested that 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) acts as a promoting agent in various organ systems including the rat liver. Since a major characteristic of the stage of tumor promotion is its operational reversibility, we have assessed whether TCDD-induced promotion is reversible in a two-stage model of hepatocarcinogenesis. In this model, female Fischer F344 rats were administered a single, intragastric dose of the initiating agent, diethylnitrosamine (DEN, 10 mg/kg), at the peak of proliferation induced by a partial hepatectomy. TCDD was then administered biweekly (0.14 micrograms/kg, s.c.) for 1, 3 or 5 months. One group of animals was killed at each of these time points, while a second group was maintained for each time point for an additional 6 months in the absence of further TCDD. Four serial frozen sections of liver were each stained with a different enzyme marker of altered hepatic foci (AHF). The AHF were identified and the number and volume fraction determined by quantitative stereology. Exposure to TCDD resulted in an increase in the number and size of AHF in the initiated relative to the uninitiated rats. Increasing the duration of promotion with TCDD led to an increase in the number of AHF per liver, the volume fraction of the liver occupied by AHF and the number of markers expressed aberrantly by a single AHF. Discontinuation of TCDD administration for 6 months before killing the animals resulted in a decrease in the total number of AHF observed, but those AHF that remained increased in size with an overall increase in volume fraction of AHF. Analysis of the size class distribution for AHF for each of the periods of TCDD promotion revealed an increase in the larger AHF but a decrease in the smaller, thereby resulting in an overall decrease in number of AHF with an increase in the volume fraction of AHF. Increasing the duration of the TCDD exposure prior to its withdrawal led to an increased AHF size, phenotypic complexity and number of AHF remaining after cessation of TCDD administration. Although the levels of TCDD in livers of rats 6 months after cessation of TCDD administration were still greater than background, they were markedly reduced compared to immediately after administration. Thus, cessation of exposure to TCDD after a brief duration led to a reversal of its promotional effects on the majority of AHF, while prolonged exposure led to maintained promotion of a minority of AHF.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

The effects of iodinated glycerol, trichlorfon, and acetaminophen on tumor progression in a Fischer rat leukemia transplant model.

Sixty-day bioassays of iodinated glycerol, trichlorfon, and acetaminophen were conducted using a leukemia transplant model in 6- to 8-week-old F344 rats to investigate the potential of these chemicals to affect tumor progression. The chemicals were administered in the drinking water at doses that approximated those used in previously conducted 2-year carcinogenesis studies. Simultaneous with dose administration, half of a group of young, healthy, syngeneic rats were given subcutaneous transplants of mononuclear cells derived from spleens of leukemic donors. Variables used to quantitate tumor progression included body weight, spleen weight, white blood cell (WBC) and red blood cell (RBC) counts, packed cell volume, hemoglobin concentration, and platelet counts. Iodinated glycerol at 1.25 or 2.5 mg/ml caused a greater increase in leukocytosis in dosed transplant recipients in comparison to that experienced by undosed recipients: trichlorfon at 2.5 or 5.0 mg/ml enhanced splenomegaly and induced greater reductions in RBC parameters in dosed recipients in comparison to that experienced by undosed recipients. Acetaminophen at 3.0 and 6.0 mg/ml resulted in insignificant but dose-related increases in spleen weight and leukocytosis only in the female rat transplant recipients, as was observed in 2-year studies. Based on results from the short-term leukemia transplant model, data from 2-year carcinogenicity studies, and structure-activity considerations, exposure to iodinated glycerol and trichlorfon was more strongly associated with the expression of leukemia than exposure to acetaminophen. The potential carcinogenicity of each of these chemicals should be taken into consideration when calculating estimates of risk and decisions for their use.

Acetaminophen↗

Correlation of hepatocellular proliferation with hepatocarcinogenicity induced by the mutagenic noncarcinogen:carcinogen pair--2,6- and 2,4-diaminotoluene.

2,4-Diaminotoluene (2,4-DAT) and 2,6-diaminotoluene (2,6-DAT) are equally genotoxic in the Ames/Salmonella assay and are both readily absorbed, metabolized, and excreted and metabolites of both compounds are mutagenic with metabolic activation. However, there are marked differences in the results of chronic rodent bioassays with these two compounds. 2,4-DAT is a potent hepatocarcinogen whereas 2,6-DAT failed to produce an increased incidence of tumors in any tissue even when administered at a dose higher than that of 2,4-DAT. In an effort to elucidate the source of these apparently discordant results, the present studies were designed to determine the effects of these two chemicals on cell proliferation in the liver when administered at the dose levels comparable to those used in the original bioassays. This study utilized repeated oral dosing, osmotic minipumps to deliver bromodeoxyuridine (BrDU) for 8 days, and immunohistochemistry to quantitate BrDU incorporation into hepatic DNA, CCl4 (0.4 ml/rat, single ip dose) or vehicle control groups were included as positive and negative controls, respectively. The degree of cell proliferation was quantified by the labeling index from at least 1000 hepatocytes. Results from the control studies indicate that approximately 1.1% of the hepatocytes from vehicle-treated animals replicated during the exposure period whereas approximately 50% replicated in the positive controls. The carcinogen 2,4-DAT produced a dose-dependent increase in cell proliferation of approximately 10% and 20% in livers of animals exposed to 12.5 and 25.0 mg/kg/day, respectively, whereas the noncarcinogen 2,6-DAT produced no increase in cell turnover compared to vehicle control following treatment with 25.0 or 50.0 mg/kg/day. These results indicate a positive correlation between increased cell proliferation and hepatocarcinogenesis induced by these two isomers of diaminetoluene.

Animals↗

Activation of protooncogenes in spontaneously occurring non-liver tumors from C57BL/6 x C3H F1 mice.

The C57BL/6 x C3H F1 (hereafter called B6C3F1) mouse is an important animal model for long-term carcinogenesis studies. Maintained under normal laboratory conditions, these mice develop various types of spontaneous tumors during their lifetime. Activated Ha-ras genes have been detected in 66% of spontaneous hepatocellular tumors in the B6C3F1 mouse [Reynolds et al., Science (Washington DC), 237:1309, 1988]. In this study 49 spontaneous non-liver tumors were investigated for oncogene activation by DNA transfection techniques. Of the 49 tumor DNAs analyzed, only 5 yielded multiple foci in the NIH 3T3 focus assay: 2 of 10 pulmonary adenocarcinomas; 0 of 25 lymphomas; 2 of 2 Harderian gland adenomas; 0 of 1 adenocarcinoma of the small intestine; 1 of 6 malignant skin tumors; 0 of 4 hemangiosarcomas; and 0 of 1 lung metastasis of a hepatocellular carcinoma. DNA from six lymphomas which were negative in the NIH 3T3 focus assay were further analyzed for transforming genes by the nude mouse tumorigenicity assay. One of the five lymphomas tested positive with this assay. Southern blot analysis identified five activated ras genes: H-ras in two Harderian gland adenomas; K-ras in one pulmonary adenocarcinoma and in one s.c. adenocarcinoma; and N-ras in one lymphoma. The mutations involved were CG to AT and AT to TA in codon 61 of the Ha-ras genes, GC to AT or TA in codon 12 of the K-ras genes, and a GC to AT mutation in codon 12 of the N-ras gene. Transformant DNA from a pulmonary adenocarcinoma which yielded multiple foci in the transfection assay did not hybridize to DNA probes specific for the K-, H-, and N-ras, raf, neu, and met genes. Thirteen additional tumor DNAs yielded a single focus in the NIH 3T3 transfection assay. The transformant DNAs retransmitted in a second cycle transfection assay. Rearranged and/or amplified raf genes were detected in six of the transformant DNAs. At present we do not know whether these activated raf genes were present in the original tumor DNA. The other seven transformant DNAs did not hybridize with any of the above mentioned specific DNA probes utilized in Southern blot analysis. Unlike liver tumors, the activation of ras protooncogenes is not a frequent event in the development of spontaneous non-liver tumors of the B6C3F1 mouse. The results from this study should aid in understanding the neoplastic development associated with exposure to chemical carcinogens in the B6C3F1 mouse.

Adenocarcinoma↗

An initiation-promotion assay in rat liver as a potential complement to the 2-year carcinogenesis bioassay.

Several pharmaceutical agents, manufacturing chemicals, and environmental contaminants were found to act primarily as promoting agents in an initiation-promotion paradigm. The phenotypic distribution of four enzyme markers--placental glutathione-S-transferase (PGST), gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), canalicular ATPase (ATPase), and glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase)--was analyzed in altered hepatic foci (AHF) by quantitative stereology. The number and volume distribution of AHF were determined for each promoter tested. For phenobarbital and 2,3,7,8-tetrachloro-p-dioxin, PGST and GGT together scored 100% of the AHF; for 1-(phenylazo)-2-naphthol (CI solvent yellow 14) and chlorendic acid, PGST alone marked 90% of the AHF; after chronic administration of WY-14,643, ATP and G6Pase were the predominant markers. In rats fed tamoxifen, G6P scored more than half of the AHF. Differences in the number of AHF promoted by each of these agents and in their phenotypic distributions may reflect the differentially responsive nature of individual initiated hepatocytes to the action of specific promoters. Since the chronic bioassay of suspected carcinogens does not allow one to differentiate between weak complete carcinogens and those carcinogenic agents that act in a reversible manner to promote the growth of previously initiated cells, the partial hepatectomy, altered-hepatic-focus model of cancer development is proposed as a supplement to the chronic bioassay for the identification of those carcinogenic agents that are primarily, if not exclusively, promoting agents in rat liver.

Animals↗

Magnetic resonance microscopy of toxic renal injury induced by bromoethylamine in rats.

The alkylhalide 2-bromoethylamine hydrobromide (BEA) produces renal injury in rats that mimics analgesic-related renal injury in humans. Our purpose was to examine this injury, in vivo in rats, with magnetic resonance (MR) microscopy and correlate MR findings with findings from light microscopy of hematoxylin-eosin-stained sections. Rats (n = 48) were injected intravenously with BEA (150 mg/kg) or saline and imaged with MR 6, 48, and 336 hr later. The spin-spin relaxation time, T2, was measured from the cortex to the papilla. In other rats, we measured regional water content of the kidney. Renal injury was present 48 and 336 hr after BEA dosing based on increased renal organ weights, decreased urine specific gravity, and significant renal lesions (H & E). T2 was elevated in the inner stripe of the outer medulla in injured kidneys at 48 hr. The differences in T2 between cortex and outer medulla were also elevated 48 hr after BEA. In the inner medulla, there were no changes in T2 after BEA treatment. However, in all groups there were significant regional differences in T2. The value of T2 increased from outer to inner medulla and this gradient was directly correlated with water content. Thus, MR microscopy detected damage in the outer medulla after BEA injury but not the damage in the inner medulla. T2 appeared to reflect the water content in the different regions of the medulla. The noninvasive in vivo capability of MR microscopy, with its high sensitivity to tissue water, allows the toxicologist to monitor the progression and regression of toxic insult in the same animal. At present the technology is complicated. The precise and accurate measure of MR-sensitive parameters in live animals at microscopic resolution is difficult. However, as the technology matures, there will be significant improvements providing the toxicologist a unique in vivo tool.

Animals↗

An enhancement method for immunohistochemical staining of proliferating cell nuclear antigen in archival rodent tissues.

An enhanced immunohistochemical procedure to detect proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), an endogenous cell replication marker, has been successfully applied to formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded archival rat and mouse tissues. The procedure involves microwave oven heating of tissue sections in a commercially available antigen retrieval solution of heavy metal salts. Successful immunohistochemical staining of PCNA can be consistently obtained in tissues fixed for over 24 months in formalin and in sections made from paraffin blocks stored in our tissue archives for up to 19 months. Use of this technique will allow retrospective staining of rodent tissues for identification of S phase cells as an indication of DNA replicative activity in previously conducted toxicity and carcinogenicity studies.

Animals↗

Correlation of changes in serum analytes and hepatic histopathology in rats exposed to carbon tetrachloride.

Clinical pathology data can significantly contribute to the characterization of a disease process if suitable time points for sample collection are chosen and combined with the measurement of biochemical analytes that are sensitive and specific for damage to a potential target organ. Using a well-defined model for hepatotoxicity, we correlated histopathological lesions in the liver with changes in selected serum analytes. Groups of Fischer-344 rats were treated with carbon tetrachloride (280 mg/kg in corn oil) for 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 or 10 days. Subgroups were allowed to recover for 1, 5 or 8 days, at which time blood and liver specimens were collected. Histologically, necrosis was detected in livers from rats treated for 1 and 2 days and allowed to recover for 1 day. This was followed by generalized fatty change in animals treated for longer periods. The maximum severity of fatty change occurred 7-12 days (total experimental time). A sharp rise and fall (48 h) in cytosolic enzyme activities were seen in serum. This preceded gradual increases in all analytes measured which eventually peaked at 9-11 days (total experimental time). The pattern seen in biochemical analytes paralleled the development of marked fatty change. We discuss relationships between the histologic and biochemical findings and conclude that appropriate clinical biochemistry measurements in a toxicology experiment can provide valuable mechanistic information.

Alanine Transaminase↗

Effects of sulfhydryl modulation on ethyl acrylate-induced forestomach toxicity.

Acute administration of a single dose of ethyl acrylate (EA) to F344 rats by gavage caused time- and dose-dependent forestomach edema. Evidence from our laboratory and others suggested that EA is hydrolyzed to acrylic acid (AA) and ethanol both in vivo and in vitro. The major metabolites detected in teh urine of rats treated with EA were derivatives of the glutathione conjugates of EA and AA. The current work was undertaken to investigate the effects of sulfhydryl-depleting agents (diethylmaleate and fasting) and sulfhydryl-containing agents (cysteine and cysteamine) on EA-induced forestomach edema. Results presented in this report revealed that pretreatment of rats with sulfhydryl-containing chemicals such as cysteine or cysteamine has potentiated EA-induced forestomach edema. In contrast, depletion of indigenous sulfhydryls by fasting of rats or pretreatment with diethylmaleate (DEM) protected against EA-induced forestomach edema. Furthermore, repetitive daily administration of EA by gavage induced mucosal forestomach hyperplasia. Co-administration of cysteamine and EA resulted in a significant enhancement of the severity of EA-induced forestomach mucosal hyperplasia. In conclusion, current data suggest that modulation of indigenous sulfhydryls play a role in EA-induced forestomach toxicity; however, the exact mechanism underlying this role remains to be characterized.

Acrylates↗

Sustainability of forestomach hyperplasia in rats treated with ethyl acrylate for 13 weeks and regression after cessation of dosing.

In a chronic study conducted by the National Toxicology Program (NTP), gavage administration of 100 or 200 mg ethyl acrylate (EA)/kg/day, 5 days/week, to F344 rats and B6C3F1 mice resulted in a significant dose-dependent increase in the incidence of squamous cell papillomas and carcinomas of the forestomach of both sexes of rats and mice. No increase in the incidence of tumors was observed at any other site in these rats. Chemically-induced cell proliferation is currently thought to play a role in the development and progression of chemically-induced neoplasia. Therefore, a stop-study was initiated where 100 or 200 mg EA/kg (in corn oil) was administered daily, 5 days/week, for 13 weeks. Rats sacrificed at the end of the treatment regimen had severe epithelial hyperplasia of the forestomach. No lesions were observed in the glandular stomach or liver of EA-treated rats. Forestomach hyperplasia induced by EA included upward and downward cell proliferation. However, forestomachs of rats treated for 13 weeks and sacrificed 8 weeks after the last EA dose exhibited a significant decline in the incidence and severity of forestomach mucosal hyperplasia. Histopathologic evaluation of forestomachs of EA-treated rats (13 weeks) which were allowed a 19-month-recovery (with no exposure to EA) showed further decline in the incidence and severity of mucosal cell hyperplasia. These results indicate that gavage administration of EA to rats results in extensive and sustained forestomach mucosal hyperplasia. The sustainability of forestomach hyperplasia is apparently dependent on the continued exposure of rats to ethyl acrylate, and regressed after cessation of dosing. Furthermore, although enough post-treatment time was allowed for tumors to develop after cessation of EA administration, forestomachs exhibited a nearly complete recovery with no increased incidence of papillomas or carcinomas. It, therefore, remains to be determined what duration of exposure or other factors are critical for reversibility or progression of EA-induced forestomach mucosal hyperplasia to neoplasia.

Acrylates↗

Proliferative and neoplastic lesions in the rodent nasal cavity.

Proliferative lesions in the rodent nasal cavity are reviewed; attempt was made to compare species affected, sex differences, strain differences, route of administration and tumor types occurring both spontaneously and after induction by different chemicals. This review is not meant to be all inclusive but to be representative of observed trends. Our general conclusions in this paper are that: 1) spontaneous nasal tumors in rodents are very rare; 2) spontaneous nasal tumors in rats are most often squamous cell tumors, whereas hemangiomas or respiratory adenomas predominate in mice and squamous cell tumors are rare; 3) rats are usually more susceptible to the induction of epithelial tumors of the nasal cavity than mice; 4) chemically-induced hemangiomas and hemangiosarcomas of the nasal cavity have only been reported in mice; 5) tumors of the olfactory epithelium are almost uniformly malignant and invasive, while nonsquamous tumors of the respiratory epithelium are typically less invasive; 6) chemically-induced tumors of the olfactory region, either mesenchymal or epithelial, do not always require an inhalation route of exposure but may occur by systemic targeting of this region; and 7) chemicals inducing tumors in the olfactory region often produce a variety of tumor morphologies in this location as well as squamous and polypoid tumors of the transitional region. More work will be needed to illucidate the mechanisms of nasal carcinogenesis and to further refine the current tumor classification system.

Animals↗

Furan-induced hepatic cholangiocarcinomas in Fischer 344 rats.

In a 2-yr carcinogenicity bioassay, 0, 2, 4, or 8 mg furan/kg body weight (BW) was administered to male and female Fischer (F344) rats and resulted in an 86-100% incidence of cholangiocarcinomas with occasional metastasis. In a separate but concurrent study, male F344 rats dosed with 30 mg furan/kg BW for 90 days developed marked cholangiofibrosis and cholangiohepatitis and, when subsequently maintained without further treatment for an additional 6, 12, or 18 months, the cholangiofibrosis progressed to yield a 100% incidence of cholangiocarcinomas. Transplantation of 21 primary cholangiocarcinomas into syngeneic recipients resulted in growth from 4 donors. The 4 transplanted lines were successfully transferred through 8 serial passages and resulted in metastases in the recipients. The progressive growth of these proliferative hepatocholangial lesions over time, their transplantability, and the development of metastases in some of the cases provide biological evidence of the malignant potential of the furan-induced liver changes.

Adenoma, Bile Duct↗

Histomorphologic features of spontaneous and chemically-induced pulmonary neoplasms in B6C3F1 mice and Fischer 344 rats.

The histomorphologic features of spontaneous and chemically-induced lung neoplasms in male and female B6C3F1 mice and Fischer 344 rats are described. Primary pulmonary neoplasms in mice and rats were classified as alveolar/bronchiolar (A/B) adenoma or carcinoma (including variants with squamous and mucinous cell differentiation), bronchial adenoma or carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma or mesenchymal tumors. A/B adenomas and carcinomas were the most common spontaneous pulmonary neoplasms observed in both mice and rats, but were observed less frequently in rats. In the National Toxicology Program (NTP) historical control database the incidence of spontaneous A/B adenomas in male (n = 2,084) and female (n = 2,079) mice is 13.8% and 4.9%, respectively; for A/B carcinomas, it is 5.3% and 2.4%, respectively. In male (n = 3,877) and female (n = 3,919) rats, spontaneous pulmonary neoplasms are rare with historical control rates less than 3% for A/B adenomas or carcinomas in either sex. The spontaneous A/B adenomas and carcinomas observed in mice and rats typically had papillary, solid or mixed (papillary and solid) histologic growth patterns. Pulmonary neoplasms from mice and rats treated with chemical carcinogens reviewed from 2-year studies consisted primarily of A/B adenomas and carcinomas. These tumors had papillary, glandular/tubular, solid or mixed (combination of 2 or more) histologic growth patterns. A few of the A/B neoplasms had areas of squamous or mucinous cell differentiation. Other less frequently occurring spontaneous and chemically-induced neoplasms included squamous cell carcinomas, bronchial adenomas and carcinomas, and sarcomas.

Adenoma↗

Dose-response relationship between O6-methylguanine formation in Clara cells and induction of pulmonary neoplasia in the rat by 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone.

The relationship between the formation of O6-methylguanine (O6MG) and the induction of lung, liver, and nasal tumors in the Fisher 344 rat by the tobacco-specific nitrosamine 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) was examined in a dose-response study. Animals were treated for 20 wk (3 times/wk) with concentrations of NNK ranging from 0.03 to 50 mg/kg to induce tumors. Steady-state concentrations of O6MG were quantitated, and cytotoxicity was assessed in target cells and tissues after 4 wk of treatment with NNK. No cytotoxicity was detected in the lung during treatment with NNK. The formation of O6MG was greatest in Clara cells compared with macrophages, type II cells, small cells, and whole lung at all doses examined. The difference in adduct concentration between the Clara cell and other pulmonary cell types was most pronounced with low doses of carcinogen. The O6MG:dose ratio, an index of alkylation efficiency, increased 29-fold as the dose of NNK was decreased from 50 to 1 mg/kg of carcinogen. In contrast, only a small increase in alkylation efficiency was observed in type II cells and whole lung. A significant number of tumors were induced in the lung at doses of 0.1 to 50 mg/kg with incidences ranging from 10% at the lowest dose up to 87% in the group of animals which received 50 mg/kg of NNK. A linear relationship was observed when the concentration of O6MG in Clara cells as a function of dose was plotted against the corresponding tumor incidence. This relationship was not observed using DNA adduct concentrations in type II cells or whole lung. The development of pulmonary tumors appeared to involve the formation of alveolar hyperplasias which progressed to adenomas and finally to carcinomas. The majority of adenomas were solid, whereas carcinomas were mainly papillary. Examination of the ultrastructure of the hyperplasias, adenomas, and carcinomas revealed morphological structures (e.g., lamellar bodies, tubular myelin) which are associated with type II cells. Thus, these data suggest that the majority of neoplasms in the lung begin as type II cell proliferations with progression to adenomas and carcinomas within the areas of hyperplasia. The lack of agreement between biochemical and morphological findings makes it difficult to hypothesize a cell of origin for the pulmonary neoplasms. In contrast to the lung, tumors were induced in the liver and nasal passages only after exposure to high doses of NNK. Moreover, both the formation of DNA adducts and cytotoxicity appear obligatory for the generation of tumors in these tissues.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗