Transplacental effects of nitrosamines in Syrian hamsters. III. Dimethyl- and dipropylnitrosamine.

The aliphatic nitrosamines dimethylnitrosamine (DMN), diethylnitrosamine (DEN), dipropylnitrosamine (DPN), and dibutylnitrosamine (DBN) reached fetal tissue in quantitatively measurable amounts after subcutaneous administration to pregnant Syrian hamsters. The compounds were present for at least 2 h in maternal blood, placenta, fetus, and amniotic fluid; DBN was still measurable after 6 h. Only a weak or borderline transplacental effect was seen when incidences and latencies of neoplasms in the respiratory and digestive tracts of the F1-generation were compared with those of the P-generation after exposure to a single dose of DMN or DPN. However, some tumor types occurred at relatively high rates in the young, but were seen only occcasionally in their mothers or in this hamster colony in general.