7-methylguanine and Liver-Neoplasms

Cholecystokinin (CCK) inhibits pancreatic cancer but not hepatic tumor induction by N-nitrosobis (2-oxopropyl) amine (BOP) in hamsters when administered with or shortly before BOP. In this study, we evaluated the capability of sulfated CCK-8 to inhibit DNA alkylation in the hamster pancreas. We examined the pattern of O6-methylguanine (G6-Me) and N7-methylguanine (G7-Me) in pancreatic ductal, acinar and liver tissues from Syrian hamsters treated with a single dose of BOP (20 mg/kg s.c.) and with five s.c. injections of CCK-8 (200 pM/kg, 30 min apart). The first CCK injection was given either 90 min before, or together, or 3 h after POP administration. The amount of G6-Me in liver DNA did not differ significantly. We observed a decrease of G7-Me in the liver of the group treated with CCK together with POP as compared to POP alone (P less than 0.005). Lower amounts of G6-Me were found in ductal preparations (P less than 0.01) of the animals treated with CCK before POP as compared to POP alone. CCK also modified the pattern of alkylation in the acinar tissue, but without a clear relationship with the timing of administration. The results suggest that the inhibitory effect of CCK-8 on pancreatic carcinogenicity of BOP could be related to its capability to modify DNA alkylation by yet unknown mechanisms.

Topics: Alkylation; Animals; Cholecystokinin; Cricetinae; DNA; Guanine; Liver Neoplasms; Nitrosamines; Pancreas; Sincalide

The tumorigenic activities and DNA methylating abilities in F344 rats of the tobacco specific nitrosamine 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) and the structurally related nitrosamine N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) were compared. Groups of 30 male rats were given 60 s.c. injections of 0.0055 mmol/kg of either NNK or NDMA over a 20-week period (total dose, 0.33 mmol/kg). The experiment was terminated after 104 weeks. The numbers of rats with tumors were as follows for NNK and NDMA, respectively: liver, 10 and 6; lung 13 and 0; and nasal cavity, 6 and 1. NNK was significantly more tumorigenic than was NDMA toward the lung (P less than 0.01) and nasal cavity (P less than 0.05). Groups of rats were treated with a single s.c. injection of 0.39 mmol/kg or 0.055 mmol/kg of NNK or NDMA and the levels of 7-methylguanine and O6-methylguanine were measured in liver, lung, and nasal mucosa 1-48 h after treatment. In liver and lung, levels of 7-methylguanine and O6-methylguanine in DNA were 3-22 times (P less than 0.001) greater in NDMA treated rats than in NNK treated rats. Levels of methylation induced by NDMA and NNK in the nasal mucosa were similar. The results of this study demonstrate that NNK is a more potent tumorigen than NDMA in the F344 rat and suggest that DNA methylation alone does not account for its strong tumorigenicity in rat lung and nasal mucosa.

Topics: Animals; Dimethylnitrosamine; DNA, Neoplasm; Guanine; Liver Neoplasms; Lung Neoplasms; Male; Methylation; Neoplasms, Experimental; Nicotiana; Nitrosamines; Nose Neoplasms; Plants, Toxic; Rats