Abstract
RECENTLY we reported1 a dramatic effect of germ-free status (GF) on the induction of hepatomas by 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA) injected subcutaneously at birth into C3H male mice. In the experiments then reported, mice were killed at 30 to 41 weeks, and very few neoplasms apart from hepatomas were encountered. Twenty-two out of thirty-seven DMBA-treated minimum-disease mice had hepatomas and three had pulmonary adenomas, compared with three out of thirty-four DMBA-treated GF mice with hepatomas and two with pulmonary tumours. Here we report studies on the female C3H mice corresponding to the males covered by the previous report. Details of the origin and maintenance of mice, of the genetic relationship between mice kept GF and those kept under minimum disease (MD) conditions, and of the source and method of administration of DMBA, have been reported1. Horse anti-mouse lymphocyte serum (ALS) was obtained from Burroughs Wellcome. A preliminary assay of the batch used showed that doses of 0.5 ml. on days 2 and 5 after grafting prolonged the retention of A-strain skin grafts on CBA-strain mice from the normal 11 days to more than 20 days.
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GRANT, G., ROE, F. Effect of Germ-free Status and Antilymphocyte Serum on Induction of Various Tumours in Mice by a Chemical Carcinogen given at Birth. Nature 223, 1060 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1038/2231060a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/2231060a0
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