Enhancement of DL-Ethionine-Induced Liver Carcinogenesis in Rats Fed a Choline-Devoid Diet2

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Abstract
The effects of a choline-devoid (CD) or a choline-supplemented (CS) diet on the induction of liver tumors in rats by dl-ethionine were investigated. Groups of male outbred Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a plain CD or a plain CS diet, or the same diets containing 0.05% dl-ethionine. Hepatocellular carcinomas developed in 50% of the rats fed the CD+ethionine diet for 14 weeks, and in about 80% of the rats fed the same diet for 22–30 weeks. No hepatocellular carcinomas developed in rats fed the CS+ethionine diet, the plain CD diet, or the plain CS diet up to 30 weeks. The findings suggest that a CD diet alters the response of rat liver to dl-ethionine and leads to an early and enhanced induction of hepatocellular carcinoma.