DNA methylation during chronic administration of 1,2-dimethyl-hydrazine in a carcinogenic regimen

Abstract

The formation and persistence of O6-methylguanine and 7-methylguanine in colon, kidney, and liver DNA were measured over a period of 25 weeks during 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (SDMH) carcinogenesis. Rats were given 14 weekly s.c. injections of 21 mg SDMH/kg body wt., and methylated guanines in DNA were determined quantitatively one week after each injection to measure the long-term accumulation of these aberrant bases. No accumulation of either base was seen in colon DNA, and no O6-methylguanine was seen to accumulate in liver DNA. The concentrations of O6-methylguanine and 7-methylguanine in kidney DNA did increase with reported administration of the carcinogen, but these bases were removed within six weeks after the last (14th) injection of SDMH. Large amounts of 7-methylguanine accumulated in liver DNA over the 14-week treatment period. The concentration of 7-methylguanine in liver and kidney DNA increased at rates greater than could be accounted for by using kinetic relationships determined in single-exposure studies. The concentration of O6-methylguanine in kidney DNA also increase at a rate greater than would be expected from calculations based on the rate of removal following a single administration of SDMH.