Susceptibility to 1,2-dimethylhydrazine-induced colonic tumors and epithelial cell proliferation characteristics of F1, F2, and reciprocal backcrosses derived from SWR/J and AKR/J parental mouse strains.

Hybrid crosses were performed between SWR/J, a strain highly sensitive to 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH), and AKR/J, a strain highly resistant to the carcinogen. F1 and F2 and reciprocal backcrosses were tested to determine if proliferative characteristics such as high activity, wide compartment (PC), and a large S-phase population in the middle third of crypts were linked to susceptibility and inherited as a dominant autosomal trait as was reported for DMH tumor response. A blend of resistant and sensitive tumor and proliferative characteristics was observed in the F1 and F2 crosses. A tumor incidence of 43.7% in the F1 and 52% in the F2 was obtained rather than the respective 100% and 75% expected frequencies. One week after the sixth injection of DMH, the incidence of focal areas of atypism (FAA) in the backcross to resistance (BCR) and the backcross to sensitivity (BCS) was the same (4.1 per FAA-bearing animal). This suggested that the response to the carcinogen was similar in both groups up to this point. Yet 20 weeks later, the BCR had a 7.3% tumor incidence, far lower than the 50% incidence expected. The BCS had an incidence of 98.6%, not unlike SWR frequencies and close to the expected 100% tumor incidence. Proliferative characteristics in the backcrosses, however, did not revert to parental levels. Instead, the labeling index (LI) or percentage of S-phase cells to total cells scored was significantly higher in the BCR than in the BCS (10.2% +/- 3.2% versus 8.1% +/- 2.2%, P less than 0.02). This study has shown that in crosses between these two strains (SWR/J and AKR/J), susceptibility to DMH-induced tumor is not inherited as a dominant trait. Neither are the proliferative characteristics of the colonic mucosa inherited in a simple Mendelian manner nor are the kinetic properties of the epithelial cells linked to DMH tumor susceptibility. It is suggested that the parental AKR/J strain may contribute a protective or resistant factor, that is, a repressor gene, which impedes the progression of carcinogen-induced foci of dysplasia to colonic neoplasia.