Effect of age of non-skin tissues on susceptibility of skin grafts to 7,12-dimethylbenz[alpha]anthracene (DMBA) carcinogenesis in BALB/c mice, and effect of age of skin graft on susceptibility of surrounding recipient skin to DMBA.

The influence of age-dependent alterations in non-skin tissues on chemical carcinogen-induced skin papilloma development was studied by treatment with 7,12-dimethylbenz[alpha]anthracene (DMBA) of 4-month-old skin grafts sewed onto 4- and 20-month-old syngeneic recipients. Skin of 4- and 20-month-old BALB/c female mice differed in susceptibility to DMBA carcinogenesis, but the 4-month-old grafts showed the same papilloma incidence independent of the age of the recipient mice. In a different experiment, the influence of age of skin grafts on papilloma development on DMBA-treated recipient skin was studied. Fourteen- and 26-month-old skin grafts were carried by 14-month-old recipients. Grafts of those two ages are known to differ in susceptibility to DMBA carcinogenesis, but no effect of the grafts on papilloma development on DMBA-treated recipients was detectable. It was concluded that certain age-dependent differences in skin susceptibility to chemical carcinogens are solely a reflection of alterations in the skin at the site of carcinogen treatment.