Blood vessel tumorigenesis by 1,2-dimethylhydrazine dihydrochloride (symmetrical). Gross, light and electron microscopic descriptions. I.

Administration of 0.001% 1,2-dimethylhydrazine dihydrochloride, symmetrical, in the drinking water of 7-week-old randomly bred Swiss mice for the remainder of their lifetime induced blood vessel tumors and enhanced the incidence of lung neoplasms. Ninety-eight percent of the females and 92% of the males developed vascular lesions, whereas among the controls the incidence was 3% in the females and 1% in the males. In addition, the incidence of lung tumors rose from 12 to 44% in the females and from 10 to 24% in the males, as compared with the controls. The occurrence of the vascular tumors in order of decreasing frequency was as follows: muscle, pararenal, fat, liver, parametrial, paraepididymal tissues, etc. Gross, light and electron microscopic examinations of vascular lesions revealed the characteristic appearance of angiosarcomas. The type and extent of macroscopic and histologic involvements of the various tissues by the tumors are presented. The ultrastructural descriptions of hemorrhagic areas, vascular spaces, neoplastic endothelial cells, their cytoplasms and organelles are illustrated in detail.In conclusion, whereas hydrazine enhanced the development of lung tumors, when the dimethyl group was attached to it at symmetrical positions, it evoked vascular tumors. Thus, the present study provides evidence for the possible relationship between chemical structure and tumor induction at specific organ sites.