DONRYU

Inbr: F59+?.

Colour: Albino:

Genet. c.

Origin: R. Sato 1950 by inbreeding Japanese albino rats.

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Characteristics

Lifespan and spontaneous disease

Spontaneous tumours 74% in males at 120-weeks, mostly pituitary adenomas, phaeochromocytomas and insulinomas. In females incidence 89%, mostly uterine adenocarcinomas, mammary fibroadenomas and pituitary adenomas. Non-neoplastic lesions in 120 week old males and females seen most commonly in the lung, cervical lymph nodes and kidneys (Maekawa et al 1986). Histiocytic sarcoma seen in 5.3% of males and 4.2% of females (Ogasawara et al, 1993). High incidence of endometrial cancer which can be inhibited by feeding indole-3-carbinol (present in cruceriferous vegitables). This may be due to the induction of estradiol 2-hydroxylation (Kojima et al, 1994). Intra-uterine administration of 20 mg/kg N-ethyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine dissolved in polyethylene glycol resulted in 49% endometrial carcinomas, suggesting that this rat strain provides a good animal model for endometrial adenocarcinoma in women (Andolu et al, 1994, Takahashi et al, 1995). Spontaneous endometrial cancer develops from early histological changes first observed at about six months of age associated with persistant estrus, with endometrial hyperplasia being observed at eight months. At 12 months severe hyperplasia was observed and adenocarcinomas developed from about 15 months (Nagaoka et al, 1994)

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Miscellaneous

Mild nature, relatively small size. Will accept 100% transplantable Yoshida sarcoma and ascites hepatoma (Satoh, 1964, Odashima, 1964). Corynebacterium liquefaciens induces a marked resistance to challenge with ascites hepatoma (Suzuki et al 1977).

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Andolu J., Takahashi M., Imai S., Ishihara R., Kitamura T., Iijima T., Takano S., Nishiyama K., Suzuki K., and Maekawa A. (1994) High-yield induction of uterine endometrial adenocarcinomas in DONRYU rats by a single intrauterine administration of n-ethyl-n'-nitro-n- nitrosoguanidine via the vagina. Jpn. J. Cancer Res. 85, 789-793.

Kojima T., Tanaka T., and Mori H. (1994) Chemoprevention of spontaneous endometrial cancer in female Donryu rats by dietary indole-3-carbinol. Cancer Res. 54, 1446-1449.

Maekawa A., Onodera H., Tanigawa H., Furuta K., Matsuoka C., Kanno J., Ogiu T., and Hayashi Y. (1986) Spontaneous neoplastic and non-neoplastic lesions in aging Donryu rats. Jpn. J. Cancer Res. 77, 882-890.

Nagaoka T., Takeuchi M., Onodera H., Matsushima Y., Jin A. L., and Maekawa A. (1994) Sequential observation of spontaneous endometrial adenocarcinoma development in DONRYU rats. Toxicologic Pathology 22, 261-269.

Odashima S. (1964) Establishment of ascites hepatomas in the rat, 1951-1962. Natl. Cancer Inst. Monogr. 16, 51-93.

Ogasawara H., Mitsumori K., Onodera H., Imazawa T., Shibutani M., Takahashi M., Ward J. M., and Maekawa A. (1993) Spontaneous histiocytic sarcoma with possible origin from the bone- marrow and lymph-node in Donryu and F344 rats. Toxicologic Pathology 21, 63-70.

Satoh H. (1964) Transplantability of Yoshida sarcoma-result of serial transplantation 1,000 generations, 1943-1961. Natl. Cancer Inst. Monogr. 16, 7-49.

Suzuki T., Ishihara N., Seido T., and Oboshi S. (1977) Antitumor activity of macrophages induced by Corynebacterium liquifaciens. Gann 68, 386-396.

Takahashi M., Andolu J., Yoshida M., Iijima T., Ishihara R., Imai S., Kitamura T., Suzuki K., Nishiyama K., Nishimura S., Sasahara K., Wakabayashi K., and Maekawa A. (1995) Induction of endometrial adenocarcinomas by a single intrauterine administration of N-ethyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine to aged DONRYU rats showing spontaneously persistent estrus. Cancer Lett. 95, 85-91.

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INBRED STRAINS OF RATS
Updated 9 Apr. 1998
Michael FW Festing
MRC Toxicology Unit, Hodgkin Building,
University of Leicester, UK