Increase in incidence of hepatic tumors caused by oncogenic somatic mutation in mice maternally exposed to inorganic arsenic and the multigenerational and transgenerational effects of inorganic arsenic.

Abstract

Inorganic arsenic is a natural environmental contaminant and known to be a human carcinogen. Although rodent models are pivotal in elucidating the mode of action of arsenic, it has been difficult to verify the carcinogenicity of arsenic in rodents until recently. Waalkes et al. (Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 2003; 186:7-17) reported that maternal exposure to arsenite increases the incidence of hepatic tumors in the male pups of C3H mice in adulthood. This finding indicated that the gestational period is vulnerable to arsenic. Using the same experimental model, we found that maternal arsenite exposure increases the incidence of hepatic tumors caused by a somatic mutation of the C61A Ha-ras gene, which encodes an activated oncogenic Ha-ras protein. The G:C to T:A transversion is attributable to oxidative stress. Our further studies of gpt delta transgenic mice, which enable detection of in vivo mutation, and genome-wide analysis of DNA methylation levels using the methylated DNA immunoprecipitation-CpG island microarray method suggest that oxidative-stress-induced mutation and DNA methylation changes are involved in the tumor augmentation in the pups maternally exposed to arsenic. Our recent study has also suggested that maternal arsenic exposure increases the incidence of hepatic tumors even in the grandchildren (the F2 generation). Consideration should be given to multigenerational and transgenerational effects of maternal exposure in future studies.