A germ-line p53 mutation accelerates pulmonary tumorigenesis: p53-independent efficacy of chemopreventive agents green tea or dexamethasone/myo-inositol and chemotherapeutic agents taxol or adriamycin.

Recent evidence indicates that individuals with a p53 germ-line mutation (Li-Fraumeni syndrome) have a 50% risk of developing lung cancer by age 60. In this study, p53 heterozygous knockout mice and p53 transgenic mice carrying a dominant negative mutant were crossed with the A/J mouse, which is highly susceptible to lung tumor induction, to investigate whether a p53 germ-line mutation is a predisposing gene for carcinogen-induced pulmonary adenomas in mice. The number of lung tumors was not significantly increased in (TSG-p53 x A/J)F1 p53 heterozygous knockout mice as compared with that in (TSG-p53 x A/J)F1 wt mice 16 weeks after exposure to N-nitrosomethylurea (MNU). In contrast, an average of 22 lung tumors were observed in (UL53-3 x A/J)F1 mice carrying a mutant p53 transgene (135Valp53) compared with an average of 7 lung tumors seen in (UL53-3 x A/J)F1 wt mice after treatment with N-nitrosomethylurea. Similar enhancement of lung tumor multiplicity (approximately 3-fold) was seen when mutant versus wt mice were treated with the tobacco-related carcinogens benzo[a]pyrene or 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone. These results suggest that the mutant p53 transgene may have a dominant negative effect on the wt p53. The potential usefulness of this new mouse model in lung cancer chemoprevention and chemotherapy was examined. The chemopreventive efficacy of the green tea or a combination of dietary dexamethasone and myoinositol and the chemotherapeutic efficacy of Taxol or Adriamycin was examined in wt mice or mice with a mutation in the p53 gene. Mice treated with dexamethasone/myo-inositol and green tea displayed an average of 70 and 50% inhibition of lung tumors, respectively, regardless of p53 status. Similarly, when mice bearing established lung adenomas were treated with Taxol or Adriamycin, a decrease in tumor volume of approximately 70% was observed independent of p53 mutation status. Thus, the (UL53-3 x A/J)F1 p53 transgenic mouse seems to be an excellent model for human carriers of p53 germ-line mutations (Li-Fraumeni syndrome). Furthermore, the lung adenomas generated in this model possess mutations in both the K-ras proto-oncogene and the p53 tumor suppressor gene. This model should prove directly useful for chemoprevention and chemotherapy studies.