Epidemiological evidence linking dietary folate deficiency and risk for colorectal cancer is conflicting. Studies using animal models indicate that timing, dose and presence of pre-malignant lesions will influence whether folate deficiency prevents or promotes tumor formation. In this thesis a new model of spontaneous tumor formation due to long-term dietary folate deficiency alone, in non-transgenic mice and without carcinogen induction, is developed. The mechanisms by which folate deficiency might influence cancer risk are also examined. / BALB/c mice, with or without a null allele in a key folate-metabolizing enzyme, Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (Mthfr ), develop intestinal tumors due to dietary folate deficiency alone. On folate-deficient (FD) diets, 12.5% of Mthfr+/+ mice and 28.1% of Mthfr+/- mice developed tumors; mice on control diet (CD) did not. C57B1/6 mice (a strain resistant to other methods of tumor induction) placed on the same diets for the same amount of time did not develop any tumors. To investigate possible mechanisms the levels of DNA damage (dUTP/dTTP ratio and p-H2AX staining) and DNA methylation (thin layer chromatography) were examined. FD BALB/c, but not C57B1/6 mice, had a trend towards increased dUTP/dTTP and DNA double-strand breaks and decreased global DNA methylation compared to CD mice. To determine why the FD diet affects the BALB/c and not the C57Bl/6 strain, the expression of genes involved in folate metabolism was examined. Several changes in gene expression were observed. In particular, BALB/c mice had increased Mthfr expression and MTHFR activity compared to C57Bl/6 mice. Increased MTHFR activity may deplete 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate supplies for the dTMP synthesis, increasing the dUMP levels and, possibly, DNA damage. The levels of several DNA repair genes were also examined. Two genes involved in base excision repair, Thymine DNA glycosylase (Tdg) and Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (Apex1), were increased in FD C57B1/6 compared to FD BALB/c mice suggesting increased DNA repair capacity. / These results support the evidence that dietary folate deficiency promotes intestinal tumor formation possibly through increased DNA damage, with subsequent defects in DNA repair.

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