This article presents data from short-term carcinogenicity studies of compounds tested in the CB6F1-rasH2 transgenic mouse as part of the International Life Sciences Institutes' (ILSI) Health and Environmental Sciences' (HESI) Alternative to Carcinogenicity Testing (ACT) project. Additionally, data from other studies that were not conducted as part of the ILSI program, but used comparable or slightly modi ed protocols, are included here. A signi cant number (3 of 4) of the genotoxic carcinogens tested were positive in the rasH2 mouse; the other compound was equivocally positive. The positive control, N-Methyl-N-nitrosurea (MNU), gave reproducible responses across all participating laboratories with tumors noted at multiple sites in the animal. The immunosuppressive human carcinogen, Cyclosporin A, was equivocal. Two hormones that are human tumorigens, Diethylstilbestrol and 17b -Estradiol, gave positive and negative results, respectively. Of the twelve additional compounds tested that are classi ed as non-genotoxic rodent carcinogens and putative human non-carcinogens, only the two peroxisome proliferators (clo brate and diethylhexylphthalate(DEHP)) produced a positive response (liver effects). The three non-genotoxic non-carcinogens that were tested also gave negative responses in the rasH2 model. This result provides con dence that the model is likely to have a low false-positive rate.

In order to evaluate a short-term carcinogenicity testing system using CB6F1 -Tg rasH2 (rasH2-Tg) mice carrying a human prototype c-Ha-ras gene, 26-week studies were conducted in 12 different facilities as a part of an International Life Science Institute Health and Environmental Science Institute (ILSI HESI) international collaborative project. In each study N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) was administered to a separate group of rasH2-Tg mice by single intraperitoneal injection (75 mg/kg) as a positive control. We herein have summarized the mortality, body weight change, and neoplastic and nonneoplastic lesions detected in these positive control groups as representative historical positive control data. Also, we performed an interlaboratory comparison of the response of rasH2-Tg mice to MNU based on the data of 11 positive control groups from these studies. Although the body weight of rasH2-Tg mice showed lower values than that of non-Tgmice during the experimental period, body weight gain in the rasH2-Tg mice was similar to that in non-Tg mice. The mortality of rasH2-Tg mice during the study period was very low, the same as for the non-Tg mice. Incidences of spontaneous alveolar/bronchiolar adenomas and splenic hemangiomas/hemangiosarcomas were also low in the rasH2-Tg mice. Nonneoplastic lesions detected in the rasH2-Tg mice were similar to those in non-Tg mice, excluding the incidence of myopathy. There were interlaboratory differences in mortality and incidence of some lesions in the MNU-treated groups. However, the causes of death were common among the 11 laboratories and almost all the MNU-treated rasH2-Tg mice developed forestomach squamous cell papillomas/carcinomas or malignant lymphomas. This suggests that there is no appreciable difference in the response of the rasH2-Tg mouse to MNU used as a positive control. Therefore, it is concluded that MNU would be an adequate positive control compound in this testing system.

Sequential changes of numbers of pepsinogen 1 (Pg 1)-decreased pyloric glands (PDPG) detected by immunohistochemistry and of the incidence of gastric carcinomas were examined in five different strains of rats treated with N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG;CAS:70-25-7). Male SD (Crj:CD), WKY (WKY/NCrj), Lewis (LEW/Crj), Wistar (Crj:Wistar) and F344 (F344/DuCrj) rats (40 per strain), were given drinking water containing 100 micrograms/ml MNNG for 30 weeks and then normal tap water, and were killed at week 10, 30 and 50 of the experiment. Adenocarcinomas of the glandular stomach were found in nine of 15 SD rats (60%), in eight of 12 WKY rats (67%), in eight of 15 Lewis rats (53%), in three of 13 Wistar rats (23%) and in one of 18 F344 rats (6%) at week 50. These incidences of carcinomas in SD, WKY and Lewis were significantly higher (P less than 0.01) than that in F344 rats. From week 10, the numbers of PDPG in SD, WKY and Lewis rats were significantly greater (P less than 0.01) than that in F344 rats. From week 30, the numbers of PDPG in Wistar rats were also significantly greater (P less than 0.05-0.01) than that of F344. The susceptibility of rats to induction of gastric carcinoma by MNNG correlated with the susceptibility to induction of PDPG by MNNG in each strain, suggesting that induction of PDPG is a preneoplastic change in chemical gastric carcinogenesis.

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