Rats of the inbred BD strains strongly differ in their susceptibility to the induction of tumors of the central (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS) by N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (EtNU). Malignant schwannomas induced in (BDIX x BDIV) and (BDIX x BDVI) rat hybrids were analyzed to identify genetic alterations associated with EtNU-induced tumorigenesis in the PNS. EtNU-induced schwannomas exclusively exhibit an A:T T:A transversion mutation of the neu/Erbb-2 gene located on chromosome 10, with subsequent loss of the wild-type neu/Erbb-2 allele at a post-initiation stage. Targeted allelic deletion mapping previously revealed losses of heterozygosity (LOH) at the distal end of chromosome 10 in a large majority of (BDIX x BDIV) schwannomas. The aims of the present study were (i) to scan the whole genome for further LOHs; (ii) to narrow down the consensus regions of frequently occurring allelic deletions using tumors from different crosses of BD rats; and (iii) to determine the sequence of genetic alterations during schwannoma development. A limited number of (BDIX x BDIV) F(1) tumors were initially screened for LOH and microsatellite instability (MI) by amplifying 58 microsatellite markers spanning the whole genome. LOHs on chromosome 5 were detected in 9/17 tumors, with random loss of the parental alleles. Ninety-two schwannomas from different BD rat-crosses were then analyzed to solidify these data and to determine the consensus region of frequent LOHs. The results indicate that LOHs on chromosomes 10 and 5 are required for the development of EtNU-induced malignant schwannomas from immature neu/Erbb-2 mutant glial cells, and that putative tumor suppressor genes are localized on chromosome 10q32.3, corresponding to human chromosome 17q25.3, and the telomeric region of mouse chromosome 11, and on the telomeric quarter of chromosome 5. MI was detected in <0.2% of cases.