Mutagen-sensitive strain of mice
Aeschbacher, H.U.; Gottwick, D.; Meier, H.; Poot, A.W.
Mutation Research 59(2): 301-304
1979
ISSN/ISBN: 0027-5107 PMID: 375077 Document Number: 153386
Certain individual mice were much more susceptible to a mutagen than the greater majority of the animals. A very large number of animals need to be used for in vivo mutagenicity testing to make a correct estimate of the mutagenic risk of a test compound. If these naturally sensitive animals could be selected and a sensitive strain bred from them, a much smaller number of animals would need to be used to provide results from which a valid conclusion may be drawn. The study was set up to find out if this greater susceptibility could be bred into a strain of mice. The substances used were N-methylnitrosourea mercaptopurine, thio-TEPA and Trenimon. The created inbred strain of mice was clearly more sensitive to several mutagens than the mice normally used in in vivo mutagenicity testing. The created strain would be of advantage for a mutagenicity screening test like the micronucleus test. For the dominant lethal test there would probably be no advantage to using this inbred strain, for a possible inbreed depression would directly interfere with the test. Further investigations are needed to determine whether the observed sensitivity is due to inbreeding or to a true transmission of genes for susceptibility.