ToxSci Advance Access originally published online on July 14, 2004
Toxicological Sciences 2004 81(2):293-301; doi:10.1093/toxsci/kfh226
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Toxicological Sciences vol. 81 no. 2 © Society of Toxicology 2004; all rights reserved.
Tumor Profile of Novel p53 Heterozygous Tg.AC (v-Ha-ras) Bitransgenic Mice Treated with Benzo(a)pyrene and Fed Dietary N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC)






* Nutrition and Cancer Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802;
Pathology Associates International, Durham, North Carolina 27709;
Laboratory of Environmental Carcinogenesis & Mutagenesis, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709;
Laboratory of Molecular Carcinogenesis, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709
Received May 17, 2004; accepted July 7, 2004
We designed a novel short-term bitransgenic model to better characterize the effects of benzo(a)pyrene (BP) exposure on multi-organ carcinogenesis and to evaluate the effects of a well-recognized antioxidant, N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), on neoplasia. We selected the p53 heterozygous Tg.AC (v-Ha-ras) mouse model for our studies because these mice possess a carcinogen-inducible ras oncogene and one functional p53 tumor suppressor allele. Both mutations occur frequently in human cancers. In a 2 x 2 experimental design, both female and male mice were fed basal diet alone or containing 3% NAC and administered by gavage corn oil vehicle alone or containing 20 mg BP/kg body weight given twice weekly for 10 weeks. Mice (n = 15 for each grouping and sex) were subsequently observed an additional 18 weeks followed by tissue collection for evaluation of multi-organ pathology. Benzo(a)pyrene increased neoplasia in the thymus, spleen, stomach, and hematopoietic system after 28 weeks. We observed modest NAC-associated decreases in BP-induced pathology of the liver, papilloma formation and hyperplasia in the forestomach, and the occurrence of malignant lymphoma. Benzo(a)pyrene exposure reduced survival to
40% in male mice, suggesting toxicity; however, survival in control groups was
60%. Survival decreased to
30% for females in all groups. We noted a clear, but nonsignificant, 15% decline in body weights of male, but not female, mice fed NAC, although food intake did not differ. Collectively, the data suggested carcinogen and antioxidant-associated effects on neoplasia that appeared sex-dependent. Thus, this novel short-term bitransgenic model may potentially be useful for testing dietary modulation of carcinogenesis.
Key Words: p53; Tg.AC; v-Ha-ras; antioxidant; NAC.
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