The alkylation of nucleic acids of rat and mouse in vivo by the carcinogen 1,2-dimethylhydrazine.

1,2-Dimethylhydrazine, in contrast to 1-methylhydrazine, is a potent carcinogen for the colon in rats and mice. 1,2-[(14)C]Dimethylhydrazine was administered to rats and mice in doses which are carcinogenic following a single dose in the former species, or carcinogenic on repeated administration in the latter species, and the rate of (14)CO(2) exhalation was measured. Exhalation of (14)CO(2) was also studied after administration of single doses of 1-[(14)C]methylhydrazine to mice. Incorporation of radioactivity into the nucleic acids of a variety of organs was found at a time after injection (about 6 h) when (14)CO(2) production from both compounds was virtually complete. Methylation of nucleic acids of liver and colon, as indicated by the formation of 7-methylguanine, was observed after treatment with 1,2-dimethylhydrazine and to a smaller extent by a factor of about 10 after treatment with 1-methylhydrazine. Less than 1% of a single dose of 1,2-[(14)C]dimethylhydrazine was excreted in the bile of rats as determined by chemical and radioactivity assays. The similarities of the biological and biochemical actions of 1,2-dimethylhydrazine with those of some nitroso compounds and of cycasin (methylazoxymethanol glucoside) are emphasized.