Events associated with mouse skin tumor promotion with respect to arachidonic acid metabolism: a comparison between SENCAR and NMRI mice.

NMRI and SENCAR, two stocks of mice commonly used in multistage skin carcinogenesis studies, were compared with respect to the effects of inhibitors of arachidonic acid metabolism for the following 12-O-tetra-decanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-elicited events: tumor promotion, DNA synthesis in vivo and in vitro, ornithine decarboxylase induction, and prostaglandin (PG) E2 synthesis. Previous work had shown that the cyclooxygenase inhibitor indomethacin enhanced TPA promotion in SENCAR mice. We report here that over the same dose range (50 to 200 micrograms) indomethacin caused a dose-dependent inhibition of promotion in NMRI mice. Significant reversal of this inhibition was achieved with concomitant application of 10 micrograms PGF2 alpha but not PGE2. DNA synthesis studies showed that low doses of indomethacin and flurbiprofen increased TPA-stimulated DNA synthesis in primary cultures from SENCAR mice; indomethacin suppressed this response in NMRI cultures. In vivo DNA synthesis studies showed the same pattern: indomethacin enhanced TPA-stimulated DNA synthesis in SENCAR mice but inhibited in NMRI mice. Other classes of inhibitors of arachidonate metabolism (i.e., the cyclooxygenase-lipoxygenase inhibitors 5,8,11,14-eicosatetraynoic acid and phenidone and the phospholipase A2 inhibitor dibromoacetophenone) had inhibitory activity in vitro and in vivo in both stocks of mice. Indomethacin was found to inhibit TPA-induced ornithine decarboxylase activity to the same extent in both mice. Indomethacin was also very effective in inhibiting TPA-induced PGE2 synthesis in both stocks of mice. 5,8,11,14-Eicosatetraynoic acid and phenidone were likewise suppressive in both stocks of mice. It is concluded that the NMRI and SENCAR mice respond similarly to TPA with respect to promotion, DNA synthesis, ornithine decarboxylase induction, and PG synthesis. The difference appears to be in the degree of involvement of the lipoxygenase pathway.