Effect of glycerol on cell kinetics and tumorigenesis in mouse lung following urethane administration

Extending previous studies, we hypothesized that glycerol modulates pulmonary tumorigenesis in mice through metabolic activation in bronchiolar cells. To test this, we examined the effects of glycerol on pulmonary cell kinetics and tumorigenesis induced by urethane. Male ddY mice were given 1 mg/g urethane and/or 5% glycerol solution for a fixed period. [3H]Thymidine autoradiography revealed that glycerol administration significantly suppressed the urethane-induced facilitation of cell kinetics of the bronchiolar cells (p less than 0.05), but not that of the alveolar wall cells. Furthermore, glycerol did not affect urethane-induced pulmonary tumorigenesis. These findings suggest that glycerol modifies the metabolism of carcinogens in the bronchiolar epithelium