EFFECTS OF PROLONGED FEEDING WITH AFLATOXIN B-1 ON ADULT RAT-LIVER

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  • 1 January 1976
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 36  (7) , 2399-2407
Abstract
The effects of feeding adult rats for 6 wk with a carcinogenic aflatoxin-contaminated diet are described. Effects on the histological appearance of liver sections are related to changes observed in nuclear separations done with zonal centrifugation. Changes in the levels of nuclear RNA and DNA synthesis were studied in the populations of hepatic nuclei separated in the zonal rotor. The first 3 wk of the feeding period was accompanied by continuing inhibitions of nucleic acid synthesis, terminating in a loss of the majority of the tetraploid hepatocyte nuclear population. The subsequent 3 wk of feeding was predominantly a period of proliferation, restoration of the lobular architecture and recovery of nucleic acid synthetic activity. The possible bases of these 2 opposite effects, inhibition followed by stimulation, which occurred sequentially during continued feeding of the toxic diet, are discussed.