Methylation of Liver and Kidney Ribonucleic Acids in Newborn Rats Treated With H3-Dimethylnitrosamine23
- 1 December 1964
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute
- Vol. 33 (6) , 957-961
- https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/33.6.957
Abstract
The carcinogen dimethylnitrosamine (DMN) labeled with tritium was injected into pregnant and newborn rats, and incorporation of the isotope into the ribonucleic acid (RNA) of liver, kidney, and other organs was studied. A minimal methylation of fetal liver RNA was observed when fetuses were treated through the mother, but methylation increased rapidly soon after birth and reached the adult level after 3 days when animals were treated after birth. Methylation of kidney RNA, on the other hand, was relatively higher in the newborn rats than in the adult. The maternal liver RNA was methylated to different extents in different liver lobes, more in the lobi mediani than in the lobi caudati. These results are discussed in relation to intraorgan differences in methylation of RNA's due to age and enzyme system, and correlation between degree of methylation and carcinogenesis.Keywords
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