Effect of Choline Deficiency and Ethionine Feeding on Nucleic Acid Content of Rat Livers

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Abstract
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA) content was determined in livers and tumors of rats. The liver DNA and RNA were measured for choline-deficient animals and for those receiving dietary supplements of choline, ethionine, methionine, betaine, vitamin B12, and folacin or certain combinations of these. In the livers of Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, the DNA content was markedly increased by choline deficiency or ethionine supplementation of the diet. DNA content of the livers of choline-deficient Alabama Experiment Station (AES) rats was also high but was not at as low a level with 0.20% of dietary choline Cl in the AES rats as it was in the SD rats. Supplementation of the basal diet with vitamin B12 and folacin resulted in normal levels of DNA in livers of AES rats. The DNA content of transplanted hepatomas and cholangiofibrosis tumors was much higher than of livers of AES rats bearing the transplanted tumors.