Induction of peroxisome proliferation and hepatic tumours in C57BL/6N mice by ciprofibrate, a hypolipidaemic compound

The hepatic effects of ciprofibrate, a potent peroxisome proliferator, were evaluated in male C57BL/6N mice, a mouse strain with very low incidence of spontaneous liver tumour development. Dietary feeding of ciprofibrate (0.0125% or 0.025% w/w) for 2 weeks resulted in a marked proliferation of peroxisomes (9-fold increase) and several-fold increase (8- to 10-fold) in the activity of peroxisomal beta-oxidation enzymes. Feeding ciprofibrate at 0.025% concentration for 15 months followed by a 0.0125% for 6 months led to the development of hepatic adenomas in 8/14 (57%) and hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) in 3/14 (21%) mice. In mice given 0.0125% ciprofibrate for 18 months 5 of 8 (62%) and 3 of 8 (37%) developed adenomas and HCC respectively. Similar to the findings observed in rats, both the adenomas and HCC were negative for gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase. These results in C57BL/6N mice of hepatocarcinogenic effect of ciprofibrate, a non-genotoxic chemical, indicate that peroxisome proliferation can be used as a reliable parameter to evaluate the carcinogenicity of hypolipidaemic compounds.