Effect of dietary protein concentration on yield of mutagenic metabolites from 1,2-dimethylhydrazine in mice.

The effects of varying dietary protein concentrations on the metabolism of 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH) to mutagenic products by male C57BL/6 X C3H F mice were assayed by in vivo and in vitro methods. DMH and its metabolite, azoxymethane (AOM), did not increase the mutation frequency of Salmonella typhimurium (strain G-46) in vitro alone or in the presence of mouse liver homogenates capable of activating the promutagen dimethylnitrosamine. Methylazoxymethanol (MAM), another metabolite of DMH, was mutagenic in vitro without activation. S.c. administration of DMH, AOM, or MAM at dosages ranging from 0.2 to 0.8 mmol/kg of body weight caused dose-dependent increases in mutations of S. typhimurium in the host-mediated assay, and molar potencies increased progressively from DMH to AOM to MAM. S.c. or i.p. injections of AOM increased host-mediated mutagenesis within 20 min, while increases in mutagenesis by DMH required at least 1 hr. When [14C]DMH was administered, [14C]azomethane was expired immediately, while 14CO2 began to appear 1 hr after DMH administration. The percentage of administered [14C]DMH expired as azomethane varied inversely with dietary protein concentration, while AOM-induced host-mediated mutagenesis was directly proportional to dietary protein (p less than 0.01). The percentage of DMH converted to mutagenic end products was limited by losses of the volatile metabolite azomethane, especially in protein-deficient mice. Greater expiration of azomethane and decreased conversion of AOM to MAM, both seen with restriction of dietary protein, were associated with a smaller body burden of DMH metabolites.

The combined effects of dietary protein and fat on 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene-induced breast cancer in rats.

A 3 X 3 factorial experiment was conducted to examine how protein content (8, 16, 32% of kilocalories from casein) and fat content (12, 24, 48% of kilocalories from corn oil) interact to influence 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA)-induced breast carcinogenesis in rats. Forty weanling Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to each of 9 diets fed ad libitum. After 4 weeks each rat received DMBA (20 mg/kg) via gastric intubation. No substantial statistical interactions of protein and fat were observed on tumor incidence. Increasing dietary corn oil increased the percentage of rats with palpable tumors. Rats fed diets containing 12, 24 and 48% of kilocalories from corn oil showed 35, 49 and 70% tumor prevalence at necropsy, and the total number of tumors per fat level was 65, 81 and 182, respectively. Each doubling of dietary fat concentration approximately doubled the odds of a rat developing a tumor. Multiple tumors were more common with the highest corn oil intake. The odds of finding a second tumor in rats with one tumor increased by a factor of 7.5 when fat kilocalories were increased from 24 to 48% compared to a decrease of one-third when fat kilocalories were increased from 12 to 24%. Dietary corn oil significantly increased the prevalence of adenocarcinomas and adenomas but not fibroadenomas. Dietary protein did not significantly affect tumor prevalence. However, tumors palpated in rats fed 16% of kilocalories as protein regressed more frequently than in rats fed low or high protein diets. Multiple logistic-regression results indicate that, in addition to the response to dietary corn oil, tumorigenesis was increased in rats with greater ad libitum food consumption. This conclusion is supported by reanalysis that used direct rate adjustment and average partial association tests.

Plasma amino acids and excretion of protein end products by mice fed 10 or 40% soybean protein diets with or without dietary 2-acetylaminofluorene or N,N-dinitrosopiperazine.

Studies were conducted with 5- to 8-week-old male and female B6C3F1 mice to determine the influence of two carcinogens, 2-acetylaminofluorene (AAF) and N,N-dinitrosopiperazine (DNP), on plasma amino acid concentrations and on the excretion of lipids and nitrogenous metabolites. The carcinogens, AAF and DNP, were fed at concentrations of 0.25 and 0.05 g/kg of purified diet, respectively. Soybean protein constituted either 10 or 40% of the diet. Nutritional balances were measured over a 7-day period, after 7 days of acclimatization. Females ate less feed, gained less weight during acclimatization and excreted less fecal lipid as a percentage of intake than males. On the average, animals fed 40% protein consumed less total feed than those fed 10% protein. During acclimatization, DNP-fed animals ate and gained significantly less than controls. During week 2 DNP-fed animals gained significantly less than controls, although their feed intake was not significantly different. Fecal lipid excretion as a percentage of intake was significantly lower with carcinogens in the diet. The 40% protein diets increased lipid excretion in total and as a percentage of intake. With the exception of decreasing fecal lipid, AAF caused no consistent changes in feed intake, body weight, nitrogen (N) retention or N excretion. Neither carcinogen significantly influenced total fecal or urinary N, or the relative concentrations of the different forms of urinary N, when expressed as a percentage of N intake. Plasma ammonia rose with AAF feeding and plasma histidine rose with DNP feeding. Plasma concentrations of other amino acids were not changed consistently by either carcinogen. Feeding 40% protein caused a significant rise in plasma branched-chain amino acids, glycine and phenylalanine, and a significant decline in aspartate, threonine, serine, proline, citrulline, lysine and arginine.

Effects of dietary protein, fat and energy intake during an initiation phase study of 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene-induced breast cancer in rats.

A factorial experiment was conducted to examine the effects of dietary protein (8, 16, 32% of energy from casein) and dietary fat (12, 24, 48% of energy from corn oil) on the initiation of 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA)-induced breast carcinogenesis in rats. Forty weanling female Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to each of nine diets fed ad libitum. After 4 wk each rat received DMBA (20 mg/kg) via gastric intubation. For an additional 22 wk after carcinogen administration all rats consumed a diet containing 16% of dietary energy from protein and 24% from fat. Dietary fat, protein and ad libitum energy consumption exhibited statistically significant effects on final tumor prevalence, but interactive effects were not found. At necropsy, rats fed corn oil at 12, 24 and 48% of energy prior to DMBA administration showed tumor prevalences of 58, 58 and 85% with 116, 153 and 231 total tumors, respectively. The data indicate a significant nonlinear effect of dietary fat. Corresponding numbers for rats fed casein at 8, 16 and 32% of energy prior to DMBA were prevalences of 79, 65 and 59%, with total tumor counts of 194, 144 and 162. Higher dietary protein during the initiation phase was associated with a significant reduction in tumor prevalence, which was most striking between 8 and 16% of energy from protein. In addition, results of multiple logistic regression showed that tumorigenesis was increased with greater ad libitum energy intake. The odds of a tumor at necropsy were multiplied by 1.19 for each kilocalorie increase in ad libitum energy intake averaged over the post-DMBA phase of the experiment. An additional six weanling rats fed each diet for 4 wk were killed for assay of hepatic carcinogen metabolizing enzymes at the time corresponding to DMBA administration in the initiation experiment. Both protein and fat showed independent effects on the activity of several enzymes. However, enzyme activity did not suggest a unifying mechanism whereby these nutrients influence DMBA-induced mammary carcinogenesis.

Plasma amino acids and excretion of protein end products by mice fed 10 or 40% soybean protein diets with or without dietary benzo[a]pyrene or 1,2-dimethylhydrazine.

The effects of two carcinogens benzo[a]pyrene (BP) and symmetrical 1,2-dimethylhydrazine dihydrochloride (DMH), on plasma amino acid concentrations and on excretion of lipids and nitrogenous metabolites were studied in 7- to 8-wk-old male and female B6C3F1 mice. BP and DMH were fed at concentrations of 0.3125 and 0.0225 g/kg, respectively, in purified diets containing 10 or 40% soybean protein. Nutritional balances were measured over a 7-d period after 7 d of acclimatization. Females excreted less urea and more NH3 than males. Urinary urea-nitrogen, NH3, allantoin, uric acid and total urinary nitrogen were consistently higher in mice fed 40% protein than in those fed 10% protein. The increases in total and NH3 nitrogen paralleled the increase in nitrogen intake. Nitrogen of urea rose more, while that of allantoin and uric acid rose less, than nitrogen intake. Fecal lipid excretion, as a percentage of intake, was consistently higher in mice fed the 40% protein diets than in mice fed 10% protein. Plasma glycine and branched-chain amino acids were higher, but citrulline was lower, when the 40% protein diet was fed. Body weight gain was higher when the 10% protein diet was fed with BP than without it, but BP made no apparent difference in weight gain when the 40% protein diet was fed. BP interacted with dietary protein to influence the excretion of nitrogenous metabolites. In addition, BP feeding produced numerous BP X sex and BP X protein interactions for plasma amino acid concentrations. Compared to controls, feed intake and weight gain were, respectively, 8 and 61% lower in DMH-fed animals during wk 1, but no differences in intake or weight gain were found during wk 2. In contrast to BP, DMH had no significant effects on urinary or fecal nitrogen metabolites, except that urinary uric acid (relative to nitrogen intake) was 9% higher in DMH-fed mice than in controls. DMH-fed mice had 43% higher serum glutamate and 6% lower glutamine than controls.

Dietary protein and chronic toxicity of 1,2-dimethylhydrazine fed to mice.

1,2-Dimethylhydrazine-HCl (DMH-2HCl) is derived from the natural toxin cycasin, and is extensively used to induce cancers in experiments with rodents. We examined the toxicity of DMH-2HCl, incorporated into purified diets varying in protein, to determine concentrations compatible with long-term survival in B6C3H1 mice. Initial studies showed single-dose oral LD50 values (95% confidence intervals) of 26 (18-32) mg DMH-2HCl/kg body weight for males, and 60 (53-65) for females. A 6-wk study was performed with diets containing 10 or 40% soybean protein with doses of 0, 11.25, 22.5, 45, 90, and 180 mg DMH-2HCl/kg diet. All mice fed the highest dose were removed from the study due to severe toxicity. Declines in food consumption and body weight occurred in both sexes, accelerated with increasing log(DMH) dose, and were substantially more severe in groups fed 10% protein. A 5-mo study was subsequently performed with male mice fed 10 or 40% protein diets containing doses of 0, 15, 30, or 45 mg DMH-2HCl/kg diet. In this longer study, dose-related declines of food intake and body weight were also more pronounced with 10% protein. Histopathologic examination of samples from 29 organs/tissues revealed hepatic changes most commonly, and these were more severe at higher DMH levels. Lesions ranged from focal centrilobular hepatocellular necrosis to severe toxic hepatitis, associated with lobular disorganization and hepatocellular hypertrophy. Frequent dose-dependent lesions were also found in kidneys, adrenals, and heart. Renal changes included focal subcapsular fibrosis with atrophy, and hyperplasia of the tubular epithelium. Adrenal cortical hypertrophy was noted at the two highest DMH doses. Focal cardiac myocytolysis was also noted at high DMH doses. Renal damage occurred only rarely in the absence of liver pathology, and adrenal hypertrophy only rarely without renal damage. Cardiac myocytolysis was found in 14% of mice without hepatic, renal, or adrenal damage, but in 62% of those with lesions in each of those organs. No evidence of gastrointestinal toxicity was observed. Hepatic, renal, and adrenal lesions were more frequent and severe in mice fed the low-protein diet. The protective effect of high protein was DMH-dose dependent. The lower doses in these studies could be used to investigate effects of diet, cocarcinogens, or chemopreventative agents on carcinogenesis resulting from chronic, low-level dietary exposure to DMH.