Acrylamide is a high-volume industrial chemical, a component of cigarette
smoke, and a product formed in certain foods prepared at high temperatures. Previously, we compared the extent of
DNA adduct formation and mutations in B6C3F(1) /Tk mice treated neonatally with acrylamide or
glycidamide to obtain information concerning the mechanism of acrylamide genotoxicity. We have now examined the tumorigenicity of acrylamide and
glycidamide in mice treated neonatally. Male B6C3F(1) mice were injected intraperitoneally on postnatal days 1, 8 and 15 with 0.0, 0.14 or 0.70 mmol acrylamide or
glycidamide per kg
body weight per day and the tumorigenicity was assessed after 1 year. Survival in each of the groups was >87%, there were no differences in
body weights among the groups, and the only
treatment-related neoplasms involved the liver. The incidence of combined
hepatocellular adenoma or
carcinoma was 3.8% in the control group, 8.3% in the 0.14 mmol acrylamide and
glycidamide per kg
body weight groups, 4.2% in the 0.70 mmol acrylamide per kg
body weight group and 71.4% in the 0.70 mmol
glycidamide per kg
body weight group. Analysis of the hepatocellular
tumors indicated that the increased incidence observed in mice administered 0.70 mmol
glycidamide per kg
body weight was associated with A → G and A → T mutations at
codon 61 of H-ras. These results, combined with our previous data on
DNA adduct formation and mutation induction, suggest that the carcinogenicity of acrylamide is dependent on its metabolism to
glycidamide, a pathway that is deficient in neonatal mice.