One dose of 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP) or 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ) induces tumours in Min/+ mice by truncation mutations or LOH in the Apc gene.

The C57BL/6J-Min/+ (multiple intestinal neoplasia) mouse has a heterozygous nonsense Apc(Min) (adenomatous polyposis coli) mutation, and numerous adenomas spontaneously develop in the intestine. Neonatal exposure of Min/+ mice to the food carcinogens 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP) or 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ) (one injection of 50mg/kg) increased the number of small intestinal tumours about three- and two-fold, respectively. The number of colonic tumours was only increased in males. We examined whether the wild-type Apc allele was affected in intestinal tumours induced by either PhIP or IQ. In spontaneously formed and in IQ-induced small intestinal and colonic tumours from these mice, the main mechanism for tumour induction was loss of wild-type Apc allele, i.e. loss of heterozygosity (LOH). In contrast to the IQ-induced (84% LOH) and spontaneously (88% LOH) formed tumours, only 55% of the PhIP-induced small intestinal tumours from males showed LOH. Tumours that apparently had retained the wild-type Apc allele were further analysed for the presence of truncated Apc proteins by the in vitro synthesised protein (IVSP) assay. Truncated Apc proteins, indicating truncation mutations in exon 15 of the Apc gene, were detected in two of the 12 PhIP-induced tumours in segment 2 (codons 686-1217), and two of five IQ-induced tumours, one in segment 2 and the other in segment 3 (codons 1099-1693). Three of these four mutations, all in segment 2 of the Apc gene, were confirmed by sequencing. The PhIP-induced mutations were detected at codon 1125 (C deletion) and 1130 (G-T transversion), and the IQ-induced mutation was at codon 956 (C-T transition). Importantly, no truncated proteins were detected in tumours from unexposed mice with apparently retained wild-type Apc allele. These results show that one injection of either PhIP or IQ induces intestinal tumours in the Min/+ mice by inactivation of the wild-type Apc allele either by causing LOH or truncation mutations.