Rapid induction of skin tumors in human but not mouse c-Ha-ras proto-oncogene transgenic mice by chemical carcinogenesis.

The rasH2 transgenic mice carry human c-Ha-ras proto-oncogene, and are highly susceptible to chemical carcinogenesis. Previous studies showed that the mutation of c-Ha-ras induced by DMBA in the tumors of rasH2 were detected only in transgenes. To examine if the difference between the codons of the c-Ha-ras gene in human and mouse contributed to the tissue-specific sensitivity to DMBA, we generated a line of transgenic mice, mras, carrying mouse c-Ha-ras genome with its own promoter. Western blot analysis showed that the protein expression of H-RAS in the skin was increased in both rasH2 and mras compared with wild-type. Chemical skin carcinogenesis was induced by DMBA and TPA. In rasH2 mice, the latency of tumor formation was shorter than wild-type littermates. Both the number and the volume of skin tumors were increased in rasH2 than those of wild-type. However, in mras mice, enhancement of tumor formation was not observed as compared with wild-type. The mean number of tumors and the latency of tumor development was almost the same between mras and wild-type littermates. Mutational analysis showed only A to T transversion in human c-Ha-ras transgenes at codon 61 but not in murine endogenous c-Ha-ras gene in the tumors of rasH2. In the tumors of wild-type littermates and mras, A to T transversion in murine c-Ha-ras at codon 61 were detected. These results indicate that the differences in the codon of the c-Ha-ras gene between mouse and human might contribute to the tissue-specific sensitivity of DMBA.