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Induction of Pituitary Tumors in Germ-free Rats Exposed to Aspergillus versicolor

Laboratory of Germfree Life, Research Institute for Disease Mechanism and Control, Nagoya University School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan

We clarified the role of mold exposure in pituitary tumor induction using 53 germ-free Wistar rats exposed before birth and continually exposed thereafter, to Aspergillus versicolor alone. Rats were autopsied at 540 to 730 days. Untreated germ-free controls were autopsied on day 730. Thirty-three of the 53 monoassociated rats had pituitary tumors (62.3%), while only three of the 41 control germ-free rats had tumors (7.3%). It seems likely that this high incidence of pituitary tumor in the experimental rats is due to metabolites derived from the mold.

¹ To whom requests for reprints should be addressed, at Laboratory of Germfree Life, Research Institute for Disease Mechanism and Control, Nagoya University School of Medicine, Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, 466 Japan.

² Present address: Department of Pathology, Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai, 980 Japan.

Received 3/29/89. Revised 8/ 1/89. Accepted 10/12/89.