Dissimilar activation patterns of the carcinogen dimethylhydrazine (DMH) on intracellular polyamine metabolism in various organs.

Weekly administrations of the potent carcinogen 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH) predominantly induce carcinoma of the colon by nearly 100% after six months' treatment in rats. Polyamines, and especially the key enzyme of polyamine de novo synthesis ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) are well-known to play an important role in cell growth and tumor carcinogenesis. Male Wistar rats were s. c.-injected with a single dose of 20 mg DMH/kg b. wt. and five to eight animals were sacrificed 4, 8, 12, 24, 72, 120, 168, and 240 hours after injection of DMH or the basic solution, respectively. Additionally, seven animals were simultaneously treated with the ODC inhibitor alpha-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) and sacrificed seven days after a single DMH injection. A single s. c.-dosage of the colon carcinogen DMH resulted in dissimilar activation patterns of polyamine metabolism in the various organs studied: in distal and less pronounced in proximal colonic mucosa ODC and putrescine are significantly increased seven days after application of DMH and DNA polymerase after ten days; in small intestinal mucosa ODC activity is significantly elevated after seven days and especially S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase activity is significantly and prolonged increased between twelve and 72 hours after DMH injection; while spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase activity is significantly elevated in liver after 168 and 240 hours, no changes compared to controls are found in the pancreas. DFMO treatment completely prevents DMH-induced activation of polyamine de novo synthesis and DNA polymerase in colon and small intestine. These data prove completely different and -interestingly-late appearing activation patterns of DMH on intracellular polyamine metabolism in various organ systems and further elucidate the complex metabolic changes following carcinogen treatment.