Formation by diethylnitrosamine and persistence of O4-ethylthymidine in rat liver DNA in vivo.

The formation by diethylnitrosamine (DEN) and persistence of O4-ethylthymidine in rat liver DNA in vivo has been studied using enzymic hydrolysis of DNA, cation exchange column chromatography and thin-layer chromatography (TLC). The amount of O4-ethylthymidine represented about 1% of the total ethylation; its half-life in vivo was 19 (range 16--24) days, the same value as obtained for O2-ethylthymidine. The persistence of O2- and O4-ethylthymidine, rather than the rapid removal of O6-ethylguanine, favours the former miscoding base adducts as relevant molecular lesions in rat liver carcinogenesis.