A/J Mouse As A Model For Lung Tumorigenesis Caused By Tobacco Smoke: Strengths And Weaknesses

Abstract

Strain A/J mice have successfully been used to develop an animal model for tobacco smoke carcinogenesis. In 18 individual studies, reported by 4 different laboratories, a significant increase in lung tumor multiplicities following exposure from 50 to 170 mg/m³ of total suspended tobacco smoke particulates was found in 15 studies (83%) and a significant increase in lung tumor incidence in 10 studies (56%). However, tumor multiplicities are comparatively low (from an average of 1.1 to 2.8 tumors per lung). From a toxicological standpoint, this indicates that cigarette smoke is a weak animal carcinogen. Although the assay allowed one to detect substantial chemopreventive activity of a mixture of myo-inositol and dexamethasone, it was less successful in showing efficacy for several other agents.

Key Words:

• A/J mouse
• mice
• lung tumors
• tobacco smoke
• chemoprevention

Notes

The author wishes to thank Imelda Espiritu, Man Ly, Dale Uyeminami, Mike Goldsmith, Marie Suffia, Shanie McCarty, and Loreli Coleman for their help in performing the experiments. This work was supported over the years by grants 3RT-022 and 4RT-0213 from the University of California Tobacco Related Disease Research Program, Grants no. ES05707, ES07499, and CA96217 from the National Institutes of Health, and from Philip Morris USA, Inc. and Philip Morris International. The contents of this paper are solely the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the sponsoring agencies.