title: Genetic alterations in K-ras and p53 cancer genes in lung neoplasms from Swiss (CD-1) male mice exposed transplacentally to AZT.
abstract: A transplacental carcinogenicity study was conducted by exposing pregnant Swiss (CD-1) mice to 0, 50, 100, 200, or 300 mg of 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine (AZT)/kg bw/day, through a 18 to 19-day gestation [National Toxicology Program, NIH Pub. No. 04-4458, 2004]. The incidences of alveolar/bronchiolar adenomas and carcinomas, in the 200 and 300 mg/kg male treatment groups, were significantly greater than that of the controls. In the present study, we evaluated the benign and malignant lung neoplasms from this bioassay for point mutations, in the K-ras and p53 cancer genes that are often mutated in human lung tumors. K-ras and p53 mutations were detected by cycle sequencing of polymerase chain reaction-amplified DNA, isolated from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded neoplasms. K-ras mutations were detected in 25 of 38 (66%) of the AZT-induced lung tumors, and the predominant mutations were codon 12 G-->T transversions. p53 mutations were detected in 32 of 38 (84%) of the AZT-induced lung tumors, with the predominant mutations being exon 8, codon 285 A-->T transversions, and exon 6, codon 198 T-->A transversions. No K-ras or p53 mutations were detected in five tumors, examined from control mice. The patterns of mutations identified in the lung tumors suggest that incorporation of AZT or its metabolites into DNA, oxidative stress, and genomic instability may be the contributing factors to the mutation profile and development of lung cancer in these mice.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Experimental Pathology, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA. hong@niehs.nih.gov
authors.forename: Hue-Hua L
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: June
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dunnick
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Herbert
authors.forename: Theodora R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Devereux
authors.forename: Yongbaek
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Robert C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Sills
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000633:toxicity*; D005260:Female; D016158:Genes, p53 / Q000235:genetics*; D011905:Genes, ras / Q000235:genetics*; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D009154:Mutation; D011247:Pregnancy; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors / Q000633:toxicity*; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015215:Zidovudine / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D015215:Zidovudine