ASSOCIATION OF ELEVATED MUTAGENESIS IN THE SPLEEN WITH GENETIC SUSCEPTIBILITY TO INDUCED PLASMACYTOMA DEVELOPMENT IN MICE

Using the phage lambda LIZ-based transgenic in vivo mutagenesis assay, mean mutant rates were determined in the spleen of mice exposed to su stained oxidative stress and were found to be increased approximately 3-fold in plasmacytoma-susceptible BALB/c and C.D2-Idh1-Pep3 mice, but not in plasmacytoma-resistant DBA/2N mice. This finding suggests a co rrelation between the genetic susceptibility to inflammation-induced p eritoneal plasmacytomagenesis and the phenotype of increased mutagenes is in lymphoid tissues, raising the possibility that plasmacytoma resi stance genes may inhibit tumor development by minimizing oxidative mut agenesis in B cells.