Diploid nature of hepatocellular tumours developing from transplanted preneoplastic liver cells

Hepatocyte suspensions were transplanted to the livers of syngeneic Wistar Kyoto rats by means of intraportal injection. Labelling of the donor cells with 51Cr or tritiated thymidine showed that 20% of the cells survived the transplantation procedure and were permanently retained by the recipient liver. Hepatocytes transplanted from normal livers produced no tumours, whereas donor cells from preneoplastic livers of rats treated with the carcinogens diethylnitrosamine and 2-acetylaminofluorene produced neoplastic nodules and hepatocellular carcinomas in the recipients. The number of tumours per host liver was proportional to the number of hepatocytes transplanted. Treatment of the host rats with phenobarbitone accelerated tumour development, causing liver cancer in the majority of the animals within three months. As opposed to the polyploid surrounding liver, both phenobarbitone-promoted and unpromoted host tumours contained predominantly (70-90%) diploid cells, regardless of the wide range of transplant ploidies (10-80% diploid cells) achieved by means of centrifugal elutriation. The results indicate that all host tumours arise from diploid donor hepatocytes and that the acquisition of a constitutive, predominantly non-polyploidising growth pattern may be a characteristic property of hepatocellular tumours.     

The polyploidizing growth pattern of normal rat liver is replaced by divisional, diploid growth in hepatocellular nodules and carcinomas

DNA content was measured by flow cytometry in isolated nucleifrom 71 neoplastic nodules and 15 hepatocellular carcinomasisolated from rat liver at various times after treatment withan initiation—promotion regimen employing diethylnitrosamineand 2-acetylaminofluorene. Nodules and carcinomas containedmostly diploid nuclei as compared with both surrounding andnormal hepatocytes which were predominantly polyploid. Thereappears to be a positive correlation between the degree of diploidyin nodules and their rate of proliferation. No aneuploid populationswere identified in any neoplasm despite good peak resolution.These results show that an alteration in proliferation patternfrom normal polyploidizing growth to diploid — diploiddivisional growth is a consistent characteristic throughoutthe carcinogenic process in our experunental model.     

Diploid growth pattern of hepatocellular tumours induced by various carcinogenic treatments.

Hepatocellular carcinomas from rats of different strains, subjected to a variety of carcinogenic treatment regimens in different laboratories (initiation by diethylnitrosamine or dimethylhydrazine, promotion by phenobarbital, 2-acetylaminofluorene, nafenopin, orotic acid or deoxycholic acid, growth stimulation by partial hepatectomy or necrogenic CCl4 treatment), were all found to be predominantly diploid by flow cytometric analysis, in contrast to normal liver tissue in which polyploid nuclei were predominant. A switch from polyploidization to diploid growth would thus seem to be a common property of malignant liver tumours. Benign neoplastic liver nodules were likewise predominantly diploid, with the exception of nodules induced by long-term deoxycholic acid treatment in Fischer rats. In addition to containing a majority of polyploid cells, the latter nodules failed to progress to the carcinoma stage.     

Shift from polyploidizing to nonpolyploidizing growth in carcinogen-treated rat liver

Liver growth patterns in normal and carcinogen-treated young Wistar Kyoto rats were analyzed in terms of absolute hepatocyte numbers and ploidy distributions, calculated from DNA measurements made by flow cytometry and microscope counts of binucleated cells. Polyploidizing growth was observed during normal liver development, dominated by progressive polyploidization and a decrease in the number of diploid cells. Nonpolyploidizing growth was seen during liver regeneration and after treatment with 2-acetylaminofluorene (AAF). This mode of growth was characterized by an increase in all mononucleated ploidy classes in the absence of net polyploidization (no increase in binucleated cells). Additional diploid proliferation was detected after initiation with diethylnitrosamine followed by promotion with AAF. This selectively expanding diploid hepatocyte population, which persisted after AAF withdrawal, could represent the AAF-promoted progeny of diethylnitrosamine-altered cells with constitutive nonpolyploidizing growth properties.     

Stimulation of DNA synthesis in carcinogen-induced diploid hepatocytes in vitro

Diploid hepatocytes induced by a combination of diethylnitrosamine and 2-acetylaminofluorene were isolated and separated from polyploid hepatocytes by centrifugal elutriation. The diploid and polyploid cell fractions were approximately 90% pure and contained between 1 and 1.5 x 10(7) cells. When kept in monolayer cultures both cell populations responded to the mitogenic effect of EGF and insulin. However, the percentage of labelled nuclei was higher in predominantly diploid compared to predominantly tetraploid hepatocyte cultures at all epidermal growth factor (EGF) concentrations used in this study. At 10 ng EGF/ml and 10 mU insulin/ml the labelling index was twice as high in the diploid liver cells. Further work is required to show the relevance of the stronger response of the diploid cell fraction to mitogens in the process of carcinogenesis.     

Carcinogen—induced diploid hepatocytes: Sensitive target cells for transformation by mutated c-Ha-ras oncogene

Sequential treatment of partially (two-thirds) hepatectomized rats with diethylnitrosamine and 2-acetylaminofluorene induces the emergence of diploid hepatocytes in rat liver. These carcinogen-induced diploid cell populations are thought to contain the progenitors of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), i.e., initiated, cells. In the study presented here, we addressed the question of whether putative mutations in carcinogen-induced diploid hepatocytes can cooperate with activated oncogenes in the process of transformation in vitro. Both carcinogenesis in vivo and transformation in vitro have been shown to be multistep processes requiring at least two independent transforming events. Diploid and polyploid rat hepatocytes were isolated by centrifugal elutriation. The purity of the elutriated fractions was 88 ± 3% in the diploid fraction and 84 ± 3% in the polyploid fraction. Hepatocytes from both the elutriated cell fractions and, for comparison, hepatocytes from untreated rats were transfected by electroporation with oncogene expression vectors containing the mutated human T24 c-Ha-ras gene and of the N-myc gene. Transient expression of transfected DNA was similar in both hepatocyte populations. No cell lines could be established by using the N-myc vector. In contrast, the carcinogen-induced diploid hepatocytes, but not polyploid hepatocytes, could be converted by transfection with the ras vector into permanent anchorage-independent growing cell lines with hepatocyte-like morphology and differentiation. These cell lines expressed the myc proto-oncogene and transforming growth factor-α constitutively. Thus, carcinogeninduced diploid hepatocytes are sensitive to tranformation by the ras oncogene, suggesting cooperation between putative preexisting mutations in the diploid cells and the ras oncogene product in hepatocellular transformation.     

Expression profiling and identification of novel genes in hepatocellular carcinomas.

Liver cancer is the fifth most common cancer worldwide and unlike certain other cancers, such as colon cancer, a mutational model has not yet been developed. We have performed gene expression profiling of normal and neoplastic livers in C3H/HeJ mice treated with diethylnitrosamine. Using oligonucleotide microarrays, we compared gene expression in liver tumors to three different states of the normal liver: quiescent adult, regenerating adult, and newborn. Although each comparison revealed hundreds of differentially expressed genes, only 22 genes were found to be deregulated in the tumors in all three comparisons. Three of these genes were examined in human hepatocellular carcinomas and were found to be upregulated. As a second method of analysis, we used Representational Difference Analysis (RDA) to clone mRNA fragments differentially expressed in liver tumors versus regenerating livers. We cloned several novel mRNAs that are differentially regulated in murine liver tumors. Here we report the sequence of a novel cDNA whose expression is upregulated in both murine and human hepatocellular carcinomas. Our results suggest that DEN-treated mice provide an excellent model for human hepatocellular carcinomas.     

The expression of c-myc and c-N-ras in human cirrhotic livers, hepatocellular carcinomas and liver tissue surrounding the tumors

To study the possible role of proto-oncogenes in the multistep process of human liver hepatocarcinogenesis, we have examined the expression of c-N-ras and c-myc in human hepatocellular carcinomas and liver tissue surrounding the tumors as well as cirrhotic livers which are generally considered to precede the formation of human hepatocellular carcinoma. One to four-fold higher expression of the c-N-ras proto-oncogene was observed in twelve hepatoma patients as compared to normal liver. Increased expression of c-N-ras was also observed in liver tissue surrounding these tumors. Eight patients exhibited an apparent higher expression of the c-N-ras oncogene in adjacent liver tissue than in their corresponding tumor tissues. Six human liver cirrhosis patients also exhibited a slight increase in c-N-ras expression. Southern blot analysis demonstrated an amplified c-N-ras sequence in these tissues surrounding the tumors. In the study of the c-myc gene, variable degrees of highly enhanced expression were found in all twelve hepatoma patients as compared to normal liver. The c-myc gene was also expressed in the adjacent liver tissue and in some of the human cirrhotic livers. Our studies give further evidence that the expression of c-N-ras and c-myc proto-oncogenes are involved in the process of human hepatocarcinogenesis.     

Feulgen-DNA cytofluorometry of the liver cell carcinomas

Twenty-four autopsy cases of liver cell carcinomas were investigated by Feulgen-DNA cytofluorometry (NIKON SPM-RF 1-D) on paraffin-embedded tissue materials. The methods employed for tissue preparation and cytofluorometry were previously reported by us. The ploidy pattern based on cytofluorometry of the liver cell carcinomas exhibited wide DNA content distributions, in which many S phase cells having intermediate DNA content values ranging from diploid level to various, higher ploidy levels were included. From the comparative studies on both the histopathological findings and the ploidy pattern of the liver cell carcinomas, it was indicated that the peak value of the DNA content distribution was shifted from the diploid to the tetraploid level with the increasing appearance of the polyploid cells, and also that the degree of polyploidization appeared to correspond to the extent of the histological malignancy.     

Aberrant expression of gap junction gene in primary human hepatocellular carcinomas: increased expression of cardiac-type gap junction gene connexin 43

The expression of connexin 32 (the major liver gap junction protein) and connexin 43 (the major cardiac gap junction protein) was examined in six surgically removed human hepatocellular carcinoma tissues and the surrounding nontumorous livers using specific rat connexin probes. No decrease in connexin 32 mRNA expression was found in carcinomas compared with the surrounding nontumorous tissue. Morphometrical analysis also showed that in most of the carcinomas the number of gap junction spots stained with connexin 32 antibody was not less than that in the surrounding livers. These results are in striking contrast to the significant reductions in connexin 32 mRNA and protein expression observed in rat primary liver tumors induced by chemicals. On the other hand, all of the six human hepatocellular carcinomas exhibited elevated levels of connexin 43 mRNA, which was expressed at a very low level in the surrounding nontumorous livers. These carcinomas exhibited no detectable amplification of the connexin 43 gene. The present study suggests that gap junctional intercellular communication is altered in human hepatocellular carcinomas by molecular mechanisms different from those in rat hepatocarcinogenesis.     

Ethinyl estradiol-induced cell proliferation in rat liver. Involvement of specific populations of hepatocytes.

Hepatocyte proliferation was analyzed in vivo during the time course of continuous administration to rats of the liver tumor promoter ethinyl estradiol (EE) at 10 p.p.m. in the diet. EE-induced acute liver hyperplasia was detected in male and female Sprague-Dawley rats as an increased mitotic index of hepatocytes after 2 days of treatment. 5'-Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) labeling showed that proliferating hepatocytes were randomly distributed throughout the hepatic lobule. Subsequently, and still during the first few days of continuous EE treatment, hepatocyte proliferation decreased to control levels, and a transient increase in the incidence of apoptosis in the liver was detected. Although consistent with the concept of liver growth regression after mitogen-induced hyperplasia, these results differ from others reported to date in that, in our experiments, the cessation of cell proliferation and the subsequent growth regression occurred without withdrawal of EE in our experiments. After returning to control levels, hepatocellular proliferation again increased between 3 and 6 months of chronic treatment and remained activated during the following months of continuous treatment, as seen by accumulative BrdU labeling. Proliferating hepatocytes were predominantly located in zone 2 of the hepatic lobule at this time, surrounding a periportal zone of vacuolated hepatocytes, which were also induced by the treatment. Moreover, hyperplasia of basophilic hepatocytes was also seen around some portal spaces. In another set of experiments, chronic EE-induced activation was characterized by flow cytometry on hepatocytes isolated from male Fischer rats. Ploidy analysis of hepatocyte cell suspensions showed that the normal polyploid pattern of hepatocytes was altered by EE, the proportion of diploid hepatocytes rising considerably. The results also showed that these diploid cells were the most susceptible hepatocyte population to EE-induced proliferation, as shown by a combination of BrdU labeling and cell sorting methods. In contrast to Sprague-Dawley rats, no vacuolated cells were found histologically in the livers of these animals and the proliferating hepatocytes were located adjacent to the portal areas. These results taken together support the existence of cell target populations in the liver responding to the effects of tumor promoters. The finding that a subpopulation of diploid hepatocytes was the liver cell class most susceptible to proliferation during chronic EE treatment may explain, at least in part, the behavior of EE as a tumor promoter in hepatocarcinogenesis.     

Reduced proliferative activity of polyploid cells in primary hepatocellular carcinoma.

The proliferative activity of tumor cells differing in DNA content (ploidy) and nuclearity was investigated in primary hepatocellular carcinomas of the rat by flow cytometric analysis of collagenase-isolated cells immunostained after labelling with bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) in vivo. The diploid cell fraction in these euploid tumours was higher than in normal liver, and the rate of binucleation as well as the proliferative activity of the binuclear cells was very low. The highest proliferative activity (BrdU labelling index) was found among the diploid tumour cells. The activity in mononuclear tetraploid and octoploid cells was reduced in inverse proportion to their increasing DNA content, possibly suggesting a loss of proliferative potential associated with polyploidization. There was a significant correlation between the proliferative activity of hepatocellular carcinoma cells and nonparenchymal liver cells in the different tumours, indicating that different cell types within a tumour may respond to common growth stimuli. Treatment of tumour-bearing rats with a promoting carcinogen (2-acetylaminofluorene) resulted in significant stimulation of tumour cell proliferation (all ploidy classes), whereas the proliferation of non-parenchymal (stromal) cells in the tumour was slightly inhibited.     

Quantitative aspects of accelerated nuclear polyploidization and tumour formation in dieldrin treated CF-1 mouse liver

Nuclear polyploidization in the livers of CF-1 mice, exposed to dieldrin (0, 1, 5 and 10 ppm in the diet), was studied up to the median time of liver tumour development (ranging from 15 to 27 months) in the respective treatment groups. In untreated controls nuclear polyploidization is characterized by a linear increase of octaploid nuclei with age. Approximately 4 months before tumour development a reduction in the tetraploid to diploid ratio is observed. Dieldrin treatment was found to enhance nuclear polyploidization in the initial phases of treatment, as expressed by a dose-dependent increase in octaploid nuclei. In 'steady-state' situations all age dependent changes in the level of polyploidization found in controls were also found in dieldrin treated mice. However, these changes occurred at an increasingly earlier age with higher dieldrin treatment levels. The decrease in the tetraploid:diploid ratio always takes place a few months before tumour development. This change in the ploidy level may thus be related to the subsequent liver tumour formation. The liver tumours themselves appear to originate from a diploid stem line, and were found to increase their degree of polyploidization during growth, eventually developing aneuploid nuclei. A comparison of nuclear polyploidization and liver tumour formation in CF-1 mouse liver for the given dietary dieldrin concentrations showed that liver tumour formation was associated with a constant level of polyploidization. Since polyploidization is an age-dependent process, these findings suggest that liver tumour formation is imminent at a constant biological age and that dieldrin may advance the biological age of CF-1 mouse liver.     

Biotransformation in carcinogen-induced diploid and polyploid hepatocytes separated by centrifugal elutriation.

Biotransformation in carcinogen-induced diploid and polyploid hepatocytes was studied using isozyme-selective substrates for several enzyme pathways. Diploid hepatocytes were induced by partial hepatectomy, a single injection of diethylnitrosamine, and 4 weeks of 2-acetylaminofluorene (2-AAF) feeding. Then, after an additional 3-5 weeks on the control diet, diploid and polyploid hepatocytes were separated from freshly isolated hepatocytes by centrifugal elutriation. Benzo(a)pyrene hydroxylase, ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase, and methoxycoumarin O-demethylase activities were approximately 15-40% lower in the diploid hepatocyte fraction than in the polyploid cell fraction. Activities of 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene, glutathione S-transferase, 3-hydroxy-benzo(a)pyrene or 4-hydroxybiphenyl UDP-glucuronosyltransferase, and DT-diaphorase were not different in the two cell fractions. Determination of activity during the 2-AAF treatment indicated that 2-AAF increased 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase and 3-hydroxybenzo(a)pyrene glucuronosyltransferase activities by 300 and 200%, respectively, in both the diploid and polyploid hepatocyte fractions. Administration of phenobarbital for 4 days at the end of the control diet period increased ethoxyresorufin and methoxycoumarin dealkylations by 2- and 4-fold, and 3-hydroxybenzo(a)pyrene glucuronidation and 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene conjugation with glutathione by 1.5- to 2-fold in both hepatocyte fractions. Slight increases in benzo(a)pyrene hydroxylation and 4-hydroxybiphenyl glucuronidation were also evident in diploid cells. Although there is a slight decrease in cytochrome P-450-dependent monooxygenase activities, these data indicate that carcinogen-induced diploid hepatocytes do not show the typical toxicant-resistant phenotype observed in preneoplastic hepatocytes of altered liver foci, which are characterized by large decreases in monooxygenase biotransformations as well as increased activities of several phase II enzymes. This finding is compatible with the hypothesis that 2-AAF-induced nonploidizing growth of diploid hepatocytes is caused by nontoxic mechanisms in the present experimental paradigm. In addition, carcinogen-induced diploid cells respond to phenobarbital in a manner similar to that of polyploid hepatocytes.     

Abnormal DNA content in liver-cell dysplasia: a flow cytometric study

To clarify the true nature of liver-cell dysplasia (LCD), a flow cytometric study has been performed. The DNA content of hepatocytes from 26 cases of cirrhosis with diffuse areas of LCD was investigated and compared to that of hepatocytes from 21 control patients with non-neoplastic and neoplastic liver conditions. Flow cytometric analysis was performed on propidium-stained nuclei from archival paraffin-embedded material. Analysis was directed to assessment of diploid as well as non-diploid peaks by calculation of DNA index (DI), using normal hepatocytes present in each sample as individual and specific references. Since only samples containing at least 10,000 nuclei were considered suitable for analysis, 4 of the 26 LCD cases were discarded. Eight of 22 LCD cases had an abnormal DNA content compared with 0/11 non-neoplastic cases (p less than 0.05) and 8/10 hepatocellular carcinomas (p less than 0.05). Non-neoplastic control cases displayed uniformly diploid stemlines whereas hepatocellular carcinomas had in 8/10 cases bimodal or trimodal populations. Thus, LCD is a heterogeneous lesion in terms of ploidy, and the abnormal DNA content observed in some cases supports its pre-neoplastic nature.     

Gangliosides of liver tumors induced by N-2-fluorenylacetamide. I. Ganglioside alterations in liver tumorigenesis and normal development.

Hyperplastic nodules and hepatocellular carcinomas were induced in livers of rats by a low-protein diet containing 0.05% of the carcinogen N-2-fluorenylacetamide. Ganglioside amounts and composition were determined for histologically different hepatocellular carcinomas and compared with those for control livers, hyperplastic nodules, and liver tissue surrounding hepatomas and nodules as well as those for livers of fetal, newborn, 1-week-old, weanling, and adult Sprague-Dawley rats. Ganglioside sialic acid levels were elevated above those of normal adult liver in all liver tissues following the carcinogen treatment regimen. Livers of fetal and newborn rats contained nearly twice the amount of ganglioside sialic acid on a protein or DNA basis as did livers of adult rats. Analyses of individual nodules and hepatomas revealed two populations of tumors in which the levels of ganglioside sialic acid were 2.3 and 3.8 times normal. Ganglioside sialic acid content was at hepatoma levels in small nodules. Individual gangliosides were evenly distributed between products of the monosialoganglioside and disialoganglioside pathways in normal liver with a ratio of [N-acetylneuraminic acid (sialic acid)] (NAN)-galactose (Gal)-N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc)-(NAN)-Gal-glucose (Glc)-ceramide (Cer) (GD1a) to Gal-GalNAc-(NAN)2-Gal-Glc-Cer (GD1b) of about one. In contrast, the monosialogangliosides predominated in liver tissues following administration of the carcinogen. Increased levels of specific monosialogangliosides were present in nodules, in liver of carcinogen-treated animals prior to the appearance of tumors, and in the liver tissues surrounding nodules and hepatomas. In single hepatomas, ganglioside patterns correlated with tumorigenicity. A well-differentiated hepatoma had a normal complement of most gangliosides but was deficient in trisialogangliosides. In a poorly diferentiated but well-circumscribed hepatoma, the relative levels of all higher gangliosides were reduced. The monosialoganglioside Gal-GalNAc-(NAN)-Gal-Glc-Cer (GM1) accounted for 80% of the total ganglioside in a poorly circumscribed and poorly differentiated hepatoma. The ganglioside pattern of fetal livers most closely resembled that of a poorly differentiated hepatoma. During the first week post natum, levels of all higher monosialogangliosides and disialogangliosides declined, but the decline was most pronounced for gangliosides GM1 and GD1a. The ratio of GM1 + GD1a to GD1b + NAN-Gal-GalNAc-(NAN)2-Gal-Glc-Cer or (NAN)3-Gal-Glc-Cer (GT), used as an index of the relative predominance of the monoslaloganglioside and disialoganglioside pathways, fell from 2.7 for fetal liver to 0.4 for adult liver. Pools of precursor gangliosides increased during development, transiently for GalNAc-(NAN)-Gal-Glc-Cer and for more than 3 weeks for NAN-Gal-Glc-Cer. When hyperplastic nodules and hepatocellular carcinomas were compared, a reverse pattern was observed. The ratio of GM1 + GD1a to GD1b + GT rose steadily to values of 2.7 and 11...     

Isolation of oval cells by centrifugal elutriation and comparison with other cell types purified from normal and preneoplastic livers

Oval cells and biliary epithelial cells were isolated from livers of rats fed a choline-deficient diet containing 0.1% ethionine and from normal rat livers, respectively. Nonparenchymal cell suspensions prepared from these livers by collagenase perfusion followed by digestion of undissociated tissue with 0.1% collagenase, 0.1% Pronase, and 0.004% DNase I were separated into six fractions by centrifugal elutriation. Cells in each fraction were characterized histochemically for gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, peroxidase, alkaline phosphatase, and glucose-6-phosphatase activities, and for albumin and alpha-fetoprotein by immunocytochemical methods. Cells from Fraction 5 of the elutriation procedure had various features predicted for oval cells and were selected for further studies. The cell yield in this fraction, from each preneoplastic liver, was 5.7 X 10(7) cells, 93 +/- 2% of which were gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase positive, 6 +/- 1% peroxidase positive, 61% albumin positive, and 29% alpha-fetoprotein positive. Cells in this fraction have a median diameter of 13.1 micron and are diploid and cycling. The majority of these cells has morphological features characteristic of biliary epithelial cells, although some cells display features intermediate between duct cells and hepatocytes. Nucleic acid hybridization using specific probes revealed that these cells contain albumin and alpha-fetoprotein messenger RNAs, while hepatocytes from normal and preneoplastic liver contain only albumin messenger RNA. Biliary cells obtained from normal livers do not contain albumin messenger RNA. The large-scale purification and characterization of cell populations from preneoplastic livers is an important step in elucidating the cellular derivation of liver tumors.     

DNA methylation and oncogene expression in methapyrilene-induced rat liver tumors and in treated hepatocytes in culture

Continued exposure of rats to carcinogenic doses of methapyrilene (MP) leads to elevated levels of 5-methyl-deoxycytidine (5MC) in liver DNA. Since gene expression often correlates with DNA methylation, we investigated these parameters in the MP-induced hepatocellular carcinomas of Fischer 344 rats. DNA was hypermethylated in liver tissue surrounding the tumors relative to liver tissue of untreated controls of the same age, while tumor DNA was not; DNA methylation declined to normal levels when MP treatment ceased. Gene expression analysis showed measurable levels of mRNA for c-Ki-ras, erb-B, erb-B2, hck, src, lyn, vav, trk, raf-1, l-myc, c-jun, c-yes, c-myc, c-abl, and p53. No significant differences in expression for these and other oncogenes were seen between tumors and surrounding livers, although erb-B2 and vav showed visible decreases compared with normal liver. Hypermethylation of DNA and expression of these oncogenes in MP-treated tissues were not correlated. Levels of mRNA for the same genes in MP-treated hepatocytes in culture were similar to in vivo levels; analysis of DNA synthesis levels showed that this gene expression pattern occurred in the absence of proliferation bursts or toxicity in these cells, thus suggesting that treatment in vivo may produce the same results.     

The level of aryl hydrocarbon (Ah) receptor and of 4S polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) binding protein in diploid and polyploid hepatocytes of 2-acetylaminofluorene-treated rats.

Sequential treatment of partially hepatectomized male Wistar rats with diethylnitrosamine (DEN) and 2-acetylaminofluorene (AAF) induces the emergence of diploid hepatocyte populations. These carcinogen-induced hepatocytes are thought to include the precursor cells of liver carcinomas that arise later in this treatment protocol. The growth of the diploid hepatocytes is promoted by AAF and it has been suggested that the action of the arylamine may be receptor-mediated. AAF has been shown to bind specifically to the aryl hydrocarbon (Ah) receptor and the so-called 4S polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) binding protein. The present study addresses the question of whether the concentrations of the two binding proteins differ in diploid and polyploid hepatocytes from DEN/AAF-treated rats. Hepatocytes from carcinogen-treated rats were isolated and diploid, and tetraploid hepatocytes separated by means of centrifugal elutriation. Whereas Ah receptor concentrations in diploid hepatocytes were insignificantly lower (21.8 +/- 5.9 versus 29.2 +/- 6.6 fmol/mg cytosolic protein; n = 4; P = 0.1), levels of the 4S PAH binding protein in diploid hepatocytes were twice as high as in tetraploid hepatocytes (252.3 +/- 93.6 versus 124.0 +/- 18.5 fmol/mg cytosolic protein; n = 4; P = 0.04). We conclude from our results that the differences in growth control in polyploid and carcinogen-induced diploid hepatocytes are not associated with changes in the levels of the Ah receptor. The role of the 4S PAH binding protein in the process of hepatocarcinogenesis remains to be established.