Induction of Intestinal Tumors and Lymphomas in C57BL/6N Mice by a Food-borne Carcinogen, 2-Amino-l-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine

2-Amino-l-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP) is the most abundant heterocyclic amine contained in cooked meat and fish. Although PhIP has been demonstrated to induce various types of tumors in rats, lymphomas predominated in mice using the CDF1 strain. To investigate the carcinogenic activity of PhIP on other organs in mice with a different genetic background, PhIP was administered to C57BL/6N mice. After a 40-week administration of 300 ppm of PhIP in a high-fat diet followed by continuous feeding with a high fat diet, C57BL/6N mice developed adenomas and adenocarcinomas in the small intestine, the incidences being 52% in males and 68% in females at weeks 95 and 70, respectively. Lymphomas of B-cell origin also developed in both sexes as frequently as in the CDF1 strain, incidences being 48% in males and 32% in females. Although the incidence in PhIP-treated female mice did not differ from that in the control mice, lymphomas developed significantly earlier in the PhIP-treated mice. The present study demonstrated that the intestinal tract is another potential target of PhIP-induced carcinogenesis in mice, and that the carcinogenic activity of PhIP could be affected by the genetic background of the animals.