title: Tumor Phenotype and Gene Expression During Early Mammary Tumor Development in Offspring Exposed to Alcohol In Utero.
abstract: Alcohol exposure in utero increases susceptibility to carcinogen-induced mammary tumorigenesis in adult offspring and causes tumors with a more malignant phenotype. This study was conducted to identify changes early in tumor development that might lead to this outcome.
  
  
  
  Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a liquid diet containing 6.7% ethanol (alcohol), an isocaloric liquid diet without alcohol (pair-fed), or rat chow ad libitum (ad lib) from gestation day 7 until parturition. At birth, female progeny were cross-fostered to control dams. Pups were weaned at postnatal day (PND) 21 and fed rat chow ad libitum for the remainder of the experiment. Female offspring were administered N-nitroso-N-methylurea (NMU; 50 mg/kg body weight) on PND 50. Mammary glands were palpated weekly, and offspring were euthanized at 16 weeks post-NMU injection.
  
  
  
  At 16 weeks post-NMU, tumor multiplicity was greater in alcohol-exposed offspring compared with control groups. Estrogen receptor-α (ER) mRNA expression was decreased in tumors from alcohol-exposed offspring, and these animals developed more ER-negative tumors relative to the pair-fed group. Alcohol-exposed offspring also tended to develop more progesterone receptor (PR)-positive tumors. All tumors were HER2-negative. PR positivity was associated with higher Ki67 expression, suggesting that PR-positive tumors were more proliferative. Tumors from alcohol-exposed animals exhibited increased mRNA expression of the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) family members IGF-II and IGFBP-5. IGF-II and DNA methyltransferase mRNA tended to be greater in the normal contralateral mammary glands of these animals.
  
  
  
  These data indicate that alcohol exposure in utero may shift NMU-induced tumor development toward a more aggressive phenotype and that alterations in IGF-II expression may contribute to these changes. Additional studies should be aimed at epigenetic mechanisms that underlie IGF-II expression to further delineate how this gene is altered in mammary glands of adults exposed to alcohol in utero.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Sciences, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
authors.forename: Catina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Crismale-Gann
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Sciences, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
authors.forename: Hillary
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Stires
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Sciences, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
authors.forename: Tiffany A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Katz
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Sciences, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
authors.forename: Wendie S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Cohick
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000431:Ethanol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000633:toxicity*; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000187:drug effects*; D008325:Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D010641:Phenotype; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol
keywords: Alcohol Exposure In Utero; Hormone Receptors; Insulin-Like Growth Factor; Mammary Tumor; Tumor Phenotype