Increased tumour incidence and skin tumour promotion in two generations of descendants of 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene-treated pregnant mice.
Many experiments suggest the possibility of hereditary transmission of a predisposition to developing cancer. If this is the case, the progeny of animals exposed to carcinogens during embryogenesis should bear initiated cells. In order to examine this possibility, offspring of mice exposed to 7,12-dimethyl-benz[a]anthracene in utero were treated cutaneously with a tumour promoter, 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate. This treatment resulted in the development of skin tumours, i.e., papillomas and carcinomas. Moreover, various tumours also developed in many internal organs, and particularly in the lung. These findings suggest that exposure to carcinogens may not only increase cancer risk in subsequent generations, but also considerably reinforce sensitivity to tumour-promoting factors, which by themselves may pose no threat to an unexposed population.
Likhachev
A
A
N.N. Petrov Research Institute of Oncology, Leningrad, USSR.
Anisimov
V
V
Loktionov
A
A
Zabezhinski
M
M
Napalkov
N
N
Tomatis
L
L
D015127:9,10-Dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene / Q000633:toxicity*; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D009374:Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000209:etiology* / Q000235:genetics; D010375:Pedigree; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D012307:Risk Factors; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000209:etiology* / Q000235:genetics; D013755:Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate / Q000633:toxicity
D015127:9,10-Dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene; D013755:Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate