Carcinogen dose-dependent variation in the transgene mutation spectrum in urethane-induced lung tumors in transgenic mice carrying the human prototype c-Ha- ras gene

Abstract

Urethane-induced lung tumors and their genetic changes were investigated in transgenic (Tg) mice carrying a human prototype c-Ha- ras gene (rasH2 mice). Male and female rasH2 mice and non-transgenic (non-Tg) littermates were injected intraperitoneally with 1000 mg/kg of urethane once or three times at 2-day intervals. Hyperplasias and adenomas of the lung were observed in all animals of each group from week 10, and carcinomas were observed in male and female rasH2 mice of the triple injection group from week 10 and female non-Tg mice of the single injection group at 15/20 weeks. The multiplicities of lung proliferative lesions including hyperplasias, adenomas and carcinomas, in treated rasH2 mice were significantly higher than those in treated non-Tg mice. CAG to CTG transversions were observed in the c-Ha- ras gene in these lung proliferative lesions of rasH2 mice of the single injection group at high incidence (male: 58.3%, female: 62.5%), but no mutations of the mouse c-Ki- ras gene were evident in either rasH2 or non-Tg mice. In the triple injection group, transgene mutations were detected at a relatively low incidence, and mouse c-Ki- ras gene mutations(CAA to CGA) were observed in both rasH2 and non-Tg mice. These results suggest that the variation of the lesions induced by different doses of urethane was not the cause of the variation of the mutation spectrum and mutations of both transgene and mouse c-K- ras gene are not principal genetic events in urethane-induced lung proliferative lesions in rasH2 mice.