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Planta Med 2008; 74(13): 1602-1607
DOI: 10.1055/s-2008-1074577
Perspective
© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Rodent Models of Colon Carcinogenesis for the Study of Chemopreventive Activity of Natural Products

Angelo Pietro Femia1 , Giovanna Caderni1
  • 1Department of Pharmacology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
Further Information

Publication History

Received: April 9, 2008 Revised: May 2, 2008

Accepted: May 9, 2008

Publication Date:
04 July 2008 (online)

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Abstract

This perspective describes some commonly used animal models for the evaluation of potential chemopreventive agents in colon carcinogenesis. Special emphasis is given to the azoxymethane (AOM)/1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH) rat model and ApcMin mice, carrying a mutation in Apc, a key gene in human carcinogenesis. In the AOM/DMH model, colon cancers are induced chemically by high dosages of carcinogen and tumours develop mainly in the colon through a multistep process similar to that observed in human carcinogenesis. In the ApcMin mice, carcinogenesis is spontaneous with no need of carcinogen administration but tumours develop mostly in the small intestine while colon tumours are less frequent. Moreover, the easy identification of preneoplastic lesions, such as aberrant crypt foci (ACF) and mucin depleted foci (MDF), in short-term studies make the AOM/DMH model a useful test for screening the potential chemopreventive efficacy of natural products.

Key words

colon carcinogenesis - chemoprevention - preneoplastic lesions

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Giovanna Caderni

Department of Pharmacology

University of Florence

Viale G. Pieraccini 6

50139 Florence

Italy

Email: giovanna.caderni@unifi.it

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