Early effects in chemical-induced rat liver carcinogenesis: an immunohistochemical study following exposure to 0.04% AAF

To investigate effects that distinguish AAF from incomplete carcinogens, the rate of cell death (apoptosis) and cell proliferation was studied at early stages of AAF induced rat liver carcinogenesis, Male Wistar rats were fed 0.04% AAF in the diet for 2, 6 and 16 weeks and immunohistochemical markers were measured in the liver, The formation of initiated cells and preneoplastic foci was followed by staining for GST-P (glutathione-S-transferase). GST-P-positive foci were present from 6 weeks on, Apoptosis was increased in the periportal area and in preneoplastic foci at all time points, Cell proliferation was enhanced in the periportal area in oval cells and in bile duct-like cells particularly at 2 and 6 weeks and mainly in GST-P positive foci at 16 weeks. Notably, more cells always proliferated than were eliminated, Other apoptosis-related markers like p53 and FAS/Apo-1 could not be demonstrated in either normal hepatocytes, preneoplastic foci or in hepatocytes from treated animals, Scattered bcl-2 positive cells were present in livers at 16 weeks of treatment, The two cell growth and differentiation related proto-oncogenes c-FOS and c-JUN were increased in all treated animals at early stages, If feeding was stopped after 6 weeks, livers did not recover significantly within the following 10 weeks. The results support the complex effects of AAF in rat liver carcinogenesis, Chronic toxicity locally impairs the balance between cell proliferation and cell death and induces morphological alterations that promote the growth of initiated cells.