Evaluation of the Eμ-pim-1 Transgenic Mouse Model for Short-Term Carcinogenicity Testing*

pital, Crewe Road, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, United Kingdom. The value of the chronic rodent carcinogenicity assay in adequately predicting cancer risk in humans has become a matter of debate over the past few years. Therefore, more rapid and accurate alternative tests are urgently needed. Transgenic mouse models, those harboring genetic changes that are relevant to the multistage cancer process, may provide such alternative tests. Transgenic Eμ-pim-1 mice, developed by Berns and coworkers in 1989, contain the pim-1 oncogene, which is expressed at elevated levels in their lymphoid compartments. As a result, these mice are predisposed to the development of T-cell lymphomas. Because of the low incidence of spontaneous tumors and the increased sensitivity to N-ethyl-nitrosourea-induced carcinogenesis, Eμ-pim-1 mice were suggested to be one of the first potential and attractive candidates to be used in short-term carcinogenicity testing. In the present article, the results from 2 recent short-term assays (with mitomycin C and x-rays) are briefly presented, together with a review of all 11 performed bioassays and their corresponding histopathologic and molecular data. The overall results allow the first evaluation of the Eμ-pim-1 mouse model with regard to its usefulness in short-term carcinogenicity testing. It has been shown that the model is primarily suitabl