Chemically Induced Renal Epithelial Neoplasia in Experimental Animals

Abstract

This chapter discusses chemically induced renal tubular epithelial cell neoplasia in experimental animals. A number of compounds from diverse chemical classes have induced renal neoplasms in different species of experimental animals. The types of chemicals capable of inducing renal carcinoma include indirect-acting chemical carcinogens that require metabolism to exert their carcinogenic potential, direct-acting alkylating agents, metals, and a number of compounds with poorly understood mechanisms of action. While the kidneys of experimental animals can respond to carcinogenic stimuli with the development of a number of different morphological types of neoplasms, renal epithelial neoplasms constitute the vast majority. The classifications of renal epithelial neoplasms can generally be divided into two categories according to the cell of origin: (1) renal tubule cell neoplasia, which is postulated to be derived from epithelial cells lining the proximal tubule, and (2) transitional cell neoplasia derived from the transitional epithelial cells lining the renal pelvis. Renal neoplasms of mesenchymal cell origin and, to a lesser extent, nephroblastomas have also been induced by carcinogenic agents. The pattern of neoplasm induction is similar to the pattern in humans, where over 90% of the diagnosed renal neoplasms are of epithelial origin. The overwhelming evidence from morphological studies indicated that chemically induced renal carcinoma originates from proximal tubule epithelial cells.