P53 GENE MUTATION IN HEPATOCELLULAR-CARCINOMA INDUCED BY 2-AMINO-3-METHYLIMIDAZO[4,5-F]QUINOLINE IN NONHUMAN-PRIMATES

2-Amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ) is one of several heteroc yclic amines formed during the cooking of proteinaceous foods. IQ is a patent carcinogen in rodent bioassays and causes a high incidence of hepatocellular carcinomas in nonhuman primates. We examined 20 hepatoc ellular carcinomas (HCCs) from nonhuman primates for mutations of the p53 gene using polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformational polymorphism analysis. Mutations in the p53 gene were detected in 4 of 20 HCCs (20%) with 3 showing G-to-T transversions and one a G-to-A tr ansition. Three of these mutations were observed in codons 175 and 248 that are known mutational hot spots in human cancers. These data indi cate that part of the IQ-induced HCCs in nonhuman primates may involve inactivation of the p53 gene and suggest that IQ and possibly other h eterocyclic amines may participate in human carcinogenesis by a simila r mechanism.