Lack of acetylaminofluorene–DNA adduct formation in enzyme-altered foci of rat liver

Abstract
Formation of the N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-aminofluorene adduct was studied in enzyme-altered foci induced by four different liver carcinogenesis models. Foci were detected and scored for enzyme phenotype by a computer-aided image overlay technique. Localization of the enzymes γ-glutamyl transpeptidase, canalicular ATPase and glucose-6-phosphatase was performed by enzyme histochemistry, allowing identification of foci of seven different phenotypes. Patterns of foci obtained by image overlay were compared to in situ 2-acetylaminofluorene-DNA adduct distribution obtained by immunofluorescence. Foci were induced by the following models: (1) chronic feeding of 0.02% 2-acetylaminofluorene (2-AAF) for 8 weeks; (2) intubation of diethylnitrosamine (DEN) (10 mg/kg) 24 h after a 70% partial hepatectomy (PH), followed 8 weeks later by a diet containing 0.05% phenobar-bital for 9 months; (3) intubation of DEN (10 mg/kg) 24 h after PH, followed by a diet containing 0.01% ciprofibrate for 5 months, and after an additional 4 months a diet containing 0.05% phenobarbital for 2 months; (4) maintenance for 7.5, 16.5 or 19.5 months after transplantation of DEN/2-AAF/PH (‘Solt-Farber’ protocol) donor liver cells into host rats receiving a brief 2-AAF/PH selective regimen then no further treatment until sacrifice. To test the capacity of both foci and morphologically normal livers to form DNA adducts, the animals in models 2–4 received a diet containing 0.02% 2-AAF for 5 or 6 days before sacrifice. In all of the enzyme-altered foci identified in models 1–3 there were no DNA adducts visible by immunofluorescence. Scattered groups of positive cells were occasionally seen in the otherwise dark foci induced by model 4. For technical reasons some enzyme-altered foci were not identifiable on the fluorescence-stained slides. In liver serial sections from rats in models 1–4, there were 75, 304, 125 and 68 enzyme-altered foci of seven different phenotypes which were identified as AF-DNA negative. In models 1 and 4 there were some additional adduct-negative foci not associated with any of the seven identified focus phenotypes. These studies demonstrate that loss of the ability to form DNA adducts in hepatic enzyme-altered foci is a common and very early biochemical adaptation to xenobiotic exposure in different hepatocarcinogenesis models. This adaptation also is retained by the majority of foci in later stages of hepatocarcinogenesis.

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