Ethical issues in genetic research: disclosure and informed consent.

As research to correlate genetic status with predisposition to disease has accelerated, so has the concern that participation in such studies creates the risk of genetic discrimination and emotional distress. There is a need to broaden disclosure during the consent process to ensure that potential subjects understand these risks and other issues and to address them in the consent form. We describe the broad approach that we have taken in regard to disclosure and consent in gene mapping studies.

Adult living liver donors have excellent long-term medical outcomes: the University of Toronto liver transplant experience.

Right lobe living donor liver transplantation is an effective treatment for selected individuals with end-stage liver disease. Although 1 year donor morbidity and mortality have been reported, little is known about outcomes beyond 1 year. Our objective was to analyze the outcomes of the first 202 consecutive donors performed at our center with a minimum follow-up of 12 months (range 12-96 months). All physical complications were prospectively recorded and categorized according to the modified Clavien classification system. Donors were seen by a dedicated family physician at 2 weeks, 1, 3 and 12 months postoperatively and yearly thereafter. The cohort included 108 males and 94 females (mean age 37.3 +/- 11.5 years). Donor survival was 100%. A total of 39.6% of donors experienced a medical complication during the first year after surgery (21 Grade 1, 27 Grade 2, 32 Grade 3). After 1 year, three donors experienced a medical complication (1 Grade 1, 1 Grade 2, 1 Grade 3). All donors returned to predonation employment or studies although four donors (2%) experienced a psychiatric complication. This prospective study suggests that living liver donation can be performed safely without any serious late medical complications and suggests that long-term follow-up may contribute to favorable donor outcomes.

Adult right-lobe living liver donors: quality of life, attitudes and predictors of donor outcomes.

To refine selection criteria for adult living liver donors and improve donor quality of care, risk factors for poor postdonation health-related quality of life (HRQOL) must be identified. This cross-sectional study examined donors who underwent a right hepatectomy at the University of Toronto between 2000 and 2007 (n = 143), and investigated predictors of (1) physical and mental health postdonation, as well as (2) willingness to participate in the donor process again. Participants completed a standardized HRQOL measure (SF-36) and measures of the pre- and postdonation process. Donor scores on the SF-36 physical and mental health indices were equivalent to, or greater than, population norms. Greater predonation concerns, a psychiatric diagnosis and a graduate degree were associated with lower mental health postdonation whereas older donors reported better mental health. The majority of donors (80%) stated they would donate again but those who perceived that their recipient engaged in risky health behaviors were more hesitant. Prospective donors with risk factors for lower postdonation satisfaction and mental health may require more extensive predonation counseling and postdonation psychosocial follow-up. Risk factors identified in this study should be prospectively evaluated in future research.

Rat differences in mammary tumor induction with estrogen and neutron radiation.

Young adult female rats of either the Sprague-Dawley stock or the ACI strain were each given an implant of a compressed pellet of 5 mg diethylstilbestrol (DES) and 15 mg cholestrol 2 days before irradiation with 0.4, 1.3, or 4.0 rads of 0.43-MeV neutrons. These rats were studied, along with appropriate irradiated and nonirradiated controls, until death or for a maximum of 48 weeks. Response differences between the strain and stock included the following: DES produced both pituitary tumors and mammary adenocarcinomas (MAC) in ACI rats only. Neutron radiation increased mammary fibroadenoma (MFA) formation in Srague-Dawley rats only. No interactions between DES and radiation on MAC formation in Sprague-Dawley rats or MFA formation in ACI rats were demonstrated. However, when DES and neutron radiation were combined, DES appeared to inhibit the MFA response to radiation in Sprague-Dawley rats. In contrast, DES appeared to act synergistically with neutron radiation on MAC formation in ACI rats. These results clearly demonstrate rat differences in mammary gland carcinogenesis in response to estrogen, to radiation, or to a combination of both agents.

Synergism of estrogens and X-rays in mammary carcinogenesis in female ACI rats.

A previously demonstrated synergistic interaction between diethylstilbestrol (DES) and radiation on rat mammary carcinogenesis was extended to another estrogen, 17-ethinylestradiol (EE2). These newly reported results with EE2 demonstrated that the previously reported synergistic interaction between DES and radiation is not confined to just DES. Instead, these new results implied that the synergistic interaction is a synergistic interaction between the estrogenic activity of DES and radiation on rat mammary carcinogenesis. Female inbred ACI rats were used. By the end of the experiment, no neoplasia was detected in rats bearing cholesterol pellets, with and without X-ray exposure. No significant tumor data were obtained from rats treated with 0.1 me EE2, with and without X-rays. Approximately 50% of the rats treated with DES and approximately 90% of the rats treated with 1 mg EE2 had 1 or more mammary adenocarcinomas (MAC). X-rays synergistically increased the number of MAC per rat in the groups implanted with DES or 1 mg EE2. X-rays also increased the trend toward earlier increased incidence of rats with MAC as compared to rats treated with estrogens only. All rats treated with DES and 1 mg EE2 had pituitary tumors. The mean weight of the pituitary tumors in the groups treated with 1 mg EE2 was approximately 1.5 times that of the groups treated with DES. Mean terminal plasma prolactin levels for rats treated with 1 mg EE2 or DES were, respectively, 17.5 and 9.5 times control values.

Synergism of diethylstilbestrol and radiation in mammary carcinogenesis in female F344 rats.

One compressed 20-mg pellet containing cholesterol only or cholesterol mixed with 0.98, 1.6, 2.6, or 3.9 mg of diethylstilbestrol (DES) was implanted into each of 203 female F344 rats. Two days later, half the animals in each group were exposed to 150 R of X-rays, and the other half were sham irradiated. The rats were maintained until 350 days post implantation. Mortality increased with the higher doses of DES, with or without X-rays. DES at all dose levels, with or without X-rays, produced pituitary tumors and pyometritis. Only rats that received both DES and X-rays had mammary adenocarcinomas (AC). A synergistic AC response was found in the group that received 2.6 mg DES plus X-rays. Synergism was defined as a significantly greater incidence of rats with mammary neoplasia resulting from DES plus X-ray treatment when compared to the summed incidence from comparable individual treatments. For all other groups of rats that received both treatments, synergism was detected only when their data were combined. Synergism was not detected among rats that had fibroadenomas (FA). Both types of neoplasms were independent phenomena because no significant relationship was found between the incidences of FA and AC.

Assessment of interaction among three carcinogens on rat mammary carcinogenesis in a factorially designed experiment.

Female Sprague-Dawley rats were given by stomach tube 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene [(DMBA) CAS: 57-97-6] on the 77th day of age at the rate of 1.6 mg/100 g body weight, or procarbazine [(PCZ) CAS: 671-16-9] on the 84th day of age at the rate of 10 mg/100 g body weight, or 0.5 Gy of total-body x-rays on the 91st day of age, singly or in all possible combinations or no treatment. All rats were studied for mammary carcinogenesis for 370 days after the 84th day of age. Three measures of mammary carcinogenesis were studied. These were the incidence of rats with mammary adenocarcinomas, or mammary fibroadenomas, or mammary neoplasia of either type. Each of these measures was studied also for rats with 2 or more or 3 or more mammary neoplasms. Assessment of possible interaction among the three carcinogens with regard to the incidence of neoplasms was done by time-independent or time-dependent methods, both of which gave remarkably consistent results. For rats with 1 or more adenocarcinomas, 1 or more fibroadenomas, or 1 or more adenocarcinomas and/or fibroadenomas, both methods showed no interaction among the carcinogens, which can, therefore, be considered to have produced additive effects. An exception to this finding of additivity was an apparent synergistic interaction between DMBA and PCZ when the measures of rats with 2 or more, or 3 or more mammary neoplasms of either type, or 3 or more fibroadenomas were analyzed; these analyses, however, were based on relatively small numbers of rats with multiple tumors. Since no interactions were found for the usual measure of carcinogenesis, namely, incidence of rats with 1 or more neoplasms, the overall conclusion is that DMBA, PCZ, and x-ray act additively in the induction of mammary neoplasms in the female Sprague-Dawley rat.

Induction of mammary neoplasms in the ACI rat by 430-keV neutrons, X-rays, and diethylstilbestrol.

Mammary tumorigenesis was studied in female ACi rats after treatment with X-irradiation or neutron-irradiation, with or without diethylstilbestrol (DES) treatment. The mortality-corrected cumulative tumor rate based on all mammary neoplasms and the mortality-corrected incidence based on the first neoplasms only have been derived. In non-DES-treated animals, at the relatively high radiation doses studied, all dose-effect relationships were consistent with relative biological effectiveness (RBE) values slightly in excess of 10. In DES-treated rats definite findings were observed at neutron doses as low as 0.01 Gy (1 rad). The dose-effect relationship in DES-treated rats showed a strong sublinearly (dose exponent less than 1) at low neutron doses. RBE values in DES-treated rats increased in inverse proportion to the square root of the neutron dose, and exceeded 100 at a neutron dose of 0.01 Gy (1 rad).

Effect of dietary fat on X-ray-induced mammary cancer in Sprague-Dawley rats.

We studied the effect of dietary fat levels on the induction of mammary cancer by 350 rads total-body X-radiation given to noninbred albino Sprague-Dawley rats at 50 days of age. Compared to rats on a low-fat (LF) diet (5% lard), rats on a high-fat (HF) diet (20% lard) from 30 days of age had more tumors, with a higher multiplicity of carcinomas per rat. LF-fed groups exhibited a longer median tumor latency period thatn did HF-fed groups. A similar trend toward more tumors with an earlier time of death was seen in rats given single iv doses of 50 mg 1-methyl-1-nitrosourea/kg and fed an HF diet as compared to an LF diet.

Apparent rat strain-related sensitivity to phorbol promotion of mammary carcinogenesis.

It has been reported that twice-weekly i.p. injections of 4 mg phorbol for 10 weeks, after a single feeding of 6 mg dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA) in female Wistar rats, led to a significant augmentation of mammary adenocarcinoma incidence and of lymphatic leukemia incidence as compared to 6 mg DMBA alone. In an experiment reported here, in female Sprague-Dawley rats, using the same doses of DMBA and phorbol and the same injection schedule, phorbol given after DMBA did not augment mammary adenocarcinoma incidence or lymphatic leukemia incidence as compared to DMBA given alone. It thus appears that there is a strain-related sensitivity between Wistar and Sprague-Dawley rats with regard to the promoting activity of phorbol when phorbol treatment follows DMBA treatment, and mammary adenocarcinoma incidence and lymphatic leukemia incidence are studied. Further, in Sprague-Dawley rats, phorbol did not promote mammary fibroadenoma incidence in DMBA-treated rats, mammary adenocarcinoma incidence in procarbazine-treated rats, and mammary adenocarcinoma incidence or mammary fibroadenoma incidence in X-ray-treated rats. DMBA and procarbazine, with or without phorbol, tended to induce more mammary neoplasms in the anterior (thoracic) than in the posterior (abdominal) mammary glands. X-irradiation tended to induce mammary neoplasms in approximately equal numbers in the anterior and posterior mammary glands. It was suggested that regional differences in chemically induced mammary carcinogenesis were due to a difference in the transport and delivery of the chemical carcinogens to the regions rather than a difference in the amount of mammary gland tissue in the regions. An analysis of the numbers of Sprague-Dawley rats that developed either no mammary neoplasms, or only mammary adenocarcinomas, or only mammary fibroadenomas, or both mammary adenocarcinomas and mammary fibroadenomas in response to DMBA, procarbazine, and X-ray, suggested that the development of a mammary adenocarcinoma or the development of a mammary fibroadenoma are independent processes.

Synergism between neutron radiation and diethylstilbestrol in the production of mammary adenocarcinomas in the rat.

When young female A X C rats were given 9.6 rads of 0.43-MeV neutrons, 32 of 33 survived a 50-week follow-up period, 2 rats developed a total of 3 mammary adenocarcinomas, and 3 rats developed a total of 4 mammary fibroadenomas. For 25 rats implanted with a 20-mg pellet containing 5 mg diethylstilbestrol and 15 mg cholesterol, average survival was 284 days; 22 rats developed a total of 182 mammary adenocarcinomas, and 21 rats developed a pituitary tumor. When diethylstilbestrol was given 2 days before neutron radiation to 35 rats, the average survival was 239 days; 32 rats developed a total of 842 mammary adenocarcinomas, 1 rat developed a single mammary fibroadenoma, and 34 rats developed a pituitary tumor. All of the 31 control rats survived the 50-week study period, and none developed tumors. Twenty-one of the rats that received both diethylstilbestrol and neutron radiation and 1 rat that received only diethylstilbestrol exhibited a multiple mammary adenocarcinoma response with a range of 18 to 72 mammary adenocarcinomas per rat. These results were interpreted to mean that a synergistic interaction between diethylstilbestrol and neutron radiation on mammary adenocarcinoma formation occurs in terms of an earlier onset and a larger number of mammary adenocarcinomas. These results confirm and complement a previously reported synergistic interaction between diethylstilbestrol and X-radiation on mammary adenocarcinoma formation in A X C female rats.

Interaction of dimethylbenzanthracene and diethylstilbestrol on mammary adenocarcinoma formation in female ACI rats.

It has been reported that X-irradiation and diethylstilbestrol (DES) act synergistically on mammary adenocarcinoma formation in female ACI rats. The physical carcinogen, X-irratiation, was replaced by a chemical carcinogen, dimethylbenzanthracene (DMBA), and their interaction was studied in this system. Thirty-three female ACI rats were given 13.3 mg of DMBA per 100 grams of body weight. A total of 10 mammary adenocarcinomas were found, 8 in rats with a single mammary adenocarcinoma and 2 in a single rat, over a 266-day study period. Twenty-nine rats were implanted with a cholesterol pellet containing 5 mg of DES, and a total of 47 mammary adenocarcinomas were found, 5 in rats with a single mammary adenocarcinoma and 42 in 5 rats with 2 or more mammary adenocarcinomas. Twenty-four rats were given a combined treatment of both compounds, DES 2 days before DMBA, and a total of 12l mammary adenocarcinomas were found, 2 in rats with a single mammary adenocarcinoma and 124 in 18 rats with 2 or more mammary adenocarcinomas. The interaction between DMBA and DES was interpreted to be synergistic in regard to the proportion of rats with one or more mammary adenocarcinomas, the proportion of rats with two or more mammary adenocarcinomas, and the median times of appearance of both first and second mammary adenocarcinomas. These interactions between DMBA and DES resemble the previously reported synergistic interactions between radiation and DES on mammary adenocarcinoma formation in female ACI rats.

Homeotic Complex (Hox) gene regulation and homeosis in the mesoderm of the Drosophila melanogaster embryo: the roles of signal transduction and cell autonomous regulation.

In this paper we evaluate homeosis and Homeotic Complex (Hox) regulatory hierarchies in the somatic and visceral mesoderm. We demonstrate that both Hox control of signal transduction and cell autonomous regulation are critical for establishing normal Hox expression patterns and the specification of segmental identity and morphology. We present data identifying novel regulatory interactions associated with the segmental register shift in Hox expression domains between the epidermis/somatic mesoderm and visceral mesoderm. A proposed mechanism for the gap between the expression domains of Sex combs reduced (Scr) and Antennapedia (Antp) in the visceral mesoderm is provided. Previously, Hox gene interactions have been shown to occur on multiple levels: direct cross-regulation, competition for binding sites at downstream targets and through indirect feedback involving signal transduction. We find that extrinsic specification of cell fate by signaling can be overridden by Hox protein expression in mesodermal cells and propose the term autonomic dominance for this phenomenon.

Cross-regulation of Hox genes in the Drosophila melanogaster embryo.

Cross-regulation of Homeotic Complex (Hox) genes by ectopic Hox proteins during the embryonic development of Drosophila melanogaster was examined using Gal4 directed transcriptional regulation. The expression patterns of the endogenous Hox genes were analyzed to identify cross-regulation while ectopic expression patterns and timing were altered using different Gal4 drivers. We provide evidence for tissue specific interactions between various Hox genes and demonstrate the induction of endodermal labial (lab) by ectopically expressed Ultrabithorax outside the visceral mesoderm (VMS). Similarly, activation and repression of Hox genes in the VMS from outside tissues seems to be mediated by decapentaplegic (dpp) gene activation. Additionally, we find that proboscipedia (pb) is activated in the epidermis by ectopically driven Sex combs reduced (Scr) and Deformed (Dfd); however, mesodermal pb expression is repressed by ectopic Scr in this tissue. Mutant analyses demonstrate that Scr and Dfd regulate pb in their normal domains of expression during embryogenesis. Ectopic Ultrabithorax and Abdominal-A repress only lab and Scr in the central nervous system (CNS) in a timing dependent manner; otherwise, overlapping expression in the CNS in tolerated. A summary of Hox gene cross-regulation by ectopically driven Hox proteins is tabulated for embryogenesis.

Parametric changes in response equilibrium during an intra-cranial self stimulation (ICSS) task: can reward value be assessed independently of absolute threshold?

Traditional ICSS methodologies have attempted to evaluate changes in the rewarding value of brain stimulation by assessing the lowest value of the stimulation that will support responding. However, orderly changes in suprathreshold indicants of hedonic magnitude such as titration point have been shown. In the present experiments, rats were trained to respond on two ICSS autotitration schedules in which every response on one lever produced stimulation of the medial forebrain bundle, and every Xth response decreased either the stimulation current or the stimulation frequency. At any time, a response on a second "reset" lever restored the stimulation current or frequency available on the stimulation lever to its starting level and operationally defined changes in "reward value". In order to study this titration point measure, two response requirements (responses/stepdown; step size) and two stimulation parameters (initial stimulation level; train duration) were systematically varied. Under both current and frequency titration schedules, data indicated that response rate and titration point remained stable over repeated trials and multiple testing days--parameters being constant. Across all conditions, compared to the frequency titration schedule, subjects responding under the current titration schedule showed significantly higher titration points and lower rates of responding. Indicating the independence of rate and titration point data, parametric manipulations did not affect titration point and rate data concurrently. Results support the conclusion that titration point is a relative measure of "reward value" that is generally independent of response rate, but that is affected by manipulations that alter the amount of stimulation available between "resets". Additional work is needed in order to determine the relationship between the magnitude of stimulation needed to maintain minimal responding and that needed to maintain response equilibrium in an autotitration task.

Effects of naloxone and diprenorphine on amphetamine-stimulated behavior in guinea pigs and rats.

Amphetamine (0.1-10 mg/kg), naloxone (0.1-10 mg/kg) and diprenorphine (0.03-10 mg/kg) were studied for their ability to modulate locomotor behavior in the guinea pig. Naloxone, administered alone, caused a non-significant decrease in locomotor activity and had a similar non-significant effect on amphetamine-stimulated activity. Diprenorphine induced a significant suppression of locomotor activity, the magnitude of which was inversely related to dose: smaller doses of diprenorphine caused a greater suppression of locomotor activity than larger doses. Two doses of diprenorphine (0.1 and 1.0 mg/kg) were tested in combination with amphetamine in the guinea pig. They significantly reduced amphetamine-stimulated behavior and were equipotent in this regard. In contrast, diprenorphine had no effect on amphetamine-stimulated activity in rats. However, in keeping with other reports, naloxone (10 mg/kg) significantly reduced amphetamine-stimulated behavior. The differences in the actions of diprenorphine and naloxone on the behavior of guinea pigs and rats may reflect a different underlying distribution of subtypes of opioid receptor in the two species.

Stress-induced potentiation of morphine-induced analgesia in morphine-tolerant rats.

This study was designed to evaluate whether or not rats that were tolerant to the analgesic action of morphine were also tolerant to stress-induced potentiation of morphine-induced analgesia. Rats were trained to drink either solutions of morphine (0.5 mg/ml) or drug-free tap water on a limited access schedule (10 min every 6 hr). The daily intake of morphine averaged 46 mg/kg. Nontolerant and rats tolerant to morphine were tested for morphine-induced analgesia (tail-flick assay), while either unstressed or stressed (i.e. immobilized in Plexiglas cylinders). Morphine produced dose- and time-dependent increases in tail-flick latencies in all groups. Increased sensitivity to analgesia induced by morphine was evident for both nontolerant and tolerant, stressed rats, when compared to their unstressed counterparts. Stress-induced potentiation of morphine-induced analgesia was characterized by dose-related increases in the peak effect and duration of the effect. Stress potentiated the analgesic effect of morphine, comparably in nontolerant (1.7-fold) and tolerant (1.5-fold) rats. Differential tolerance to analgesia induced by morphine and to stress-induced potentiation of morphine-induced analgesia suggests that different mechanisms mediate these two effects.

Depletion of catecholamines in the brain of rats differentially affects stimulation of locomotor activity by caffeine, D-amphetamine, and methylphenidate.

The purpose of this study was to assess the role of catecholamines in brain, in the stimulation of locomotor activity, induced by caffeine, as compared to the psychomotor stimulants D-amphetamine and methylphenidate. Adult male rats were pretreated with either (1) 2.5 mg/kg (i.p.) reserpine, 24 hr prior to testing of locomotor activity, (2) 50 mg/kg (i.p.) alpha-methyl-para-tyrosine (AMPT) 6 hr and 2 hr prior to testing of locomotor activity, (3) 200 micrograms/rat (i.c.v.) 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA), or 25 mg/kg (i.p.) desmethylimipramine (DMI) and 200 micrograms/rat 6-OHDA (i.c.v.), 6-8 weeks prior to testing. Each treatment group had a matched control group. Levels of catecholamines in the forebrain were determined in each of the treatment and corresponding control groups. All rats were tested with doses of caffeine, D-amphetamine and methylphenidate (excluding the 6-OHDA-treated animals), administered in random order intraperitoneally 35 min before locomotor activity was measured for 30 min. Pretreatment with either reserpine or AMPT attenuated the stimulation of locomotor activity induced by caffeine and D-amphetamine but not that induced by methylphenidate. The dose-response curve for amphetamine was shifted downward and to the right by reserpine but was flattened by AMPT. The dose-response curve for caffeine was displaced downward in a similar manner by both reserpine and AMPT. Treatment with 6-OHDA or DMI + 6-OHDA produced the expected changes in the content of catecholamines in brain, but failed to modify dose-response curves for caffeine or amphetamine.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Synthesis and pharmacology of site-specific cocaine abuse treatment agents: 2-(aminomethyl)-3-phenylbicyclo[2.2.2]- and -[2.2.1]alkane dopamine uptake inhibitors.

As part of a program to develop site-specific medications for cocaine abuse, a series of 2-(aminomethyl)-3-phenylbicyclo[2.2.2]- and -[2.2.1]alkane derivatives was synthesized and tested for inhibitory potency in [3H]WIN 35,428 binding and [3H]dopamine uptake assays using rat striatal tissue. Selected compounds were tested for their ability to substitute for cocaine in rat drug discrimination tests. Synthesis was accomplished by a series of Diels-Alder reactions, using cis- and trans-cinnamic acid derivatives (nitrile, acid, acid chloride) with cyclohexadiene and cyclopentadiene. Standard manipulations produced the aminomethyl side chain. Many of the compounds bound with high affinity (median IC50 = 223 nM) to the cocaine binding site as marked by [3H]WIN 35,428. Potency in the binding assay was strongly enhanced by chlorine atoms in the 3- and/or 4-position on the aromatic ring and was little affected by corresponding methoxy groups. In the [2.2.2] series there was little difference in potency between cis and trans compounds or between N, N-dimethylamines and primary amines. In the [2.2.1] series the trans exo compounds tended to be least potent against binding, whereas the cis exo compounds were the most potent (4-Cl cis exo: IC50 = 7.7 nM, 27-fold more potent than 4-Cl trans-exo). Although the potencies of the bicyclic derivatives in the binding and uptake assays were highly correlated, some of the compounds were 5-7-fold less potent at inhibiting [3H]dopamine uptake than [3H]WIN 35,428 binding (for comparison, cocaine has a lower discrimination ratio (DR) of 2.5). The DR values were higher for almost all primary amines and for the trans-[2.2.2] series as compared to the cis-[2.2.2]. Most of the compounds had Hill coefficients approaching unity, except for the [2. 2.2] 3,4-dichloro derivatives, which all had nH values of about 2.0. Two of the compounds were shown to fully substitute for cocaine in drug discrimination tests in rats, and one had a very long duration of action.

Effect of interval between neutron radiation and diethylstilbestrol on mammary carcinogenesis in female ACI rats.

Both radiation and diethylstilbestrol (DES) are carcinogens for the mammary gland of ACI female rats. When DES is given at about the same time as radiation, DES and radiation interact in a synergistic fashion particularly in regard to the number of mammary adenocarcinomas per rat. We have studied the effect of increasing the time interval between radiation and DES on the capacity of DES to enhance (promote?) radiation-induced mammary carcinogenesis. DES, in the form of a compressed pellet containing a mixture of cholesterol and DES, formulated to average 1.25 mg of DES/100 gr body weight, was given to groups of approximately 28 rats at 2 days before, or 50, 100 or 200 days after 0.064 Gy of 0.43 MeV neutron radiation. At each time that DES was given to irradiated rats, DES was also given to nonirradiated rats. All rats were studied for 375 days after the date of the DES administration. When the total number of mammary adenocarcinomas was calculated as a percentage of 24 sites per rat at-risk, DES and radiation always produced a response that was larger than the sum of the responses of DES alone plus radiation alone. This result suggests that these two agents can interact in a synergistic fashion. The interaction between radiation and DES did not decline as the time interval between radiation and DES was lengthened. This result suggests that radiation-induced (initiated?) mammary carcinogenesis is not subject to repair since DES enhancement (promotion?) continues to be effective over long time intervals.