Induction of colonic aberrant crypts in mice by feeding apparent N-nitroso compounds derived from hot dogs.

Nitrite-preserved meats (e.g., hot dogs) may help cause colon cancer because they contain N-nitroso compounds. We tested whether purified hot-dog-derived total apparent N-nitroso compounds (ANC) could induce colonic aberrant crypts, which are putative precursors of colon cancer. We purified ANC precursors in hot dogs and nitrosated them to produce ANC. In preliminary tests, CF1 mice received 1 or 3 i.p. injections of 5 mg azoxymethane (AOM)/kg. In Experiments 1 and 2, female A/J mice received ANC in diet. In Experiment 1, ANC dose initially dropped sharply because the ANC precursors had mostly decomposed but, later in Experiment 1 and throughout Experiment 2, ANC remained at 85 nmol/g diet. Mice were killed after 8 (AOM tests) or 17-34 (ANC tests) wk. Median numbers of aberrant crypts in the distal 2 cm of the colon for 1 and 3 AOM injections, CF1 controls, ANC (Experiment 1), ANC (Experiment 2),and untreated A/J mice were 31, 74, 12, 20, 12, and 5-6, with P < 0.01 for both ANC tests. Experiment 2 showed somewhat increased numbers of colonic mucin-depleted foci in the ANC-treated group. We conclude that hot-dog-derived ANC induced significant numbers of aberrant crypts in the mouse colon.

Effect of feeding nitrite, ascorbate, hemin, and omeprazole on excretion of fecal total apparent N-nitroso compounds in mice.

It was proposed that colon cancer induced by red and nitrite-preserved meat is due to meat-derived N-nitroso compounds in the colonic contents. To explore this view, we previously showed that feeding beef and hot dogs increased the fecal output of total apparent N-nitroso compounds (ANC) in mice. In the current project, adult Swiss mice were fed a semipurified diet and water containing additives for 7 days. Feces from individual mice was collected on day 7, dried, and extracted with water. Extracts were analyzed for ANC as before. Feeding 2.0 g sodium nitrite (NaNO2)/L drinking water raised fecal ANC levels from 5 to 63 nmol/g feces. In a dose-response study, fecal ANC levels were proportional to the nitrite concentration squared. Even 32 mg NaNO2/L raised fecal ANC levels 2.3-fold (P < 0.05). In other results, 64, 125, and 250 mg hemin/kg diet, fed with 2 g NaNO2/L water, showed 2.3, 2.2, and 4.6 times the ANC level for nitrite alone. Sodium nitrate (12 g/L water) did not affect fecal ANC output. Omeprazole (400 mg/kg diet) and sodium ascorbate (23 g/kg diet), when fed with 1 g NaNO2/L water, lowered fecal ANC levels by 65 and 41%, indicating that, when nitrite was fed, acid-catalyzed reactions in the stomach produced ANC, which passed down the gut to the feces. Tests indicated that nitrosothiols constituted about 20% of fecal and hot dog ANC. The observed effect of NaNO2 is thus far not consistent with the proposed hypothesis. The enhancement by hemin may help explain why red meat is a cause of colon cancer.