Ogg1 knockout-associated lung tumorigenesis and its suppression by Mth1 gene disruption

Using Mth1 and Ogg1 knockout mice, we evaluated the roles of these enzymes to prevent tumorigenesis and the accumulation of 8-oxoguanine (8-oxoG) in DNA. We found that lung adenoma/carcinoma spontaneously developed in Ogg1 knockout mice ∼1.5 years after birth in which 8-oxoG was found to accumulate in their genomes. The mean number of tumors/mouse was 0.71 for the Ogg1 knockout mice, which was five times higher than that observed in wild-type mice (0.14). Although the accumulation of 8-oxoG was also confirmed in the Ogg1, Mth1 double knockout mice, we found no tumor in the lungs of these mice. This observation suggests that Mthl gene disruption resulted in a suppression of the tumorigenesis caused by an Ogg1 deficiency.