Renal Cell Carcinomas in Vinylidene Chloride-exposed Male B6C3F1 Mice Are Characterized by Oxidative Stress and TP53 Pathway Dysregulation

Vinylidene chloride (VDC) has been widely used in the production of plastics and flame retardants. Exposure of B6C3F1 mice to VDC in the 2-year National Toxicology Program carcinogenicity bioassay resulted in a dose-dependent increases in renal cell hyperplasia, renal cell adenoma, and renal cell carcinomas (RCCs). Among those differentially expressed genes from controls and RCC of VDC-exposed mice, there was an overrepresentation of genes from pathways associated with chronic xenobiotic and oxidative stress as well as c-Myc overexpression and dysregulation of TP53 cell cycle checkpoint and DNA damage repair pathways in RCC. Trend analysis comparing RCC, VDC-exposed kidney, and chamber control kidney showed a conservation of pathway dysregulation in terms of overrepresentation of xenobiotic and oxidative stress, and DNA damage and cell cycle checkpoint pathways in both VDC-exposed kidney and RCC, suggesting that these mechanisms play a role in the pathogenesis of RCC in VDC-exposed mice.