Mammary gland carcinogenicity of 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine in Sprague-Dawley rats on high- and low-fat diets

2-Amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP) is a carcinogenic heterocyclic amine derived from cooked meat. Mammary gland tumors were induced in female Sprague-Dawley rats given 10 doses of PhIP (75 mg/kg po) once per day from 43 days of age and then placed on a defined high fat (23.5% corn oil) or low fat (5% corn oil) diet for 25 weeks. Mammary tumor incidence was 49% (44 of 90 rats) and 31% (27 of 88 rats) in the high- and low-fat groups, respectively. No tumors were found in vehicle control rats on the high- or the low-fat diet (n = 44 and 43, respectively). The higher tumor incidence in the high fat group was due to an increase specifically in carcinomas (classified as tubulopapillary carcinomas) rather than benign tumors (tubular adenomas and fibroadenomas). The incidence of carcinomas was 45% and 24% in PhIP-treated rats on the high- and low fat diets, respectively. In addition, the percentage of carcinomas showing stromal invasion was highest in the high fat diet group (22% vs. 8%, high- vs. low-fat diet). Proliferating cell nuclear antigen immunostaining (PCNA) index revealed six times more proliferation in carcinomas from rats on the high fat diet than in rats on the low-fat diet. Adenomas from rats on different diets had similar PCNA indexes. The tumor apoptotic index quantitated by immunohistochemical detection (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase nick end labeling), was twice as high in carcinomas from rats on the high fat diet as in carcinomas from rats on the low-fat diet but was similar between the two groups of adenomas. The PCNA-to-apoptosis ratio was 43 and 17 in carcinomas from rats on the high- and low-fat diets, respectively, indicating that the growth rate of carcinomas was greater in rats on the high fat diet. The results from this study show that the high fat diet increases the incidence, invasiveness, and growth of PhIP-induced mammary gland carcinomas.