Examination of enzyme-altered foci with gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, aldehyde dehydrogenase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, and other markers in methacrylate-embedded liver.

F344 Male rats weighting between 90 and 110 gm were given 90 ppm diethylnitrosamine in their drinking water for 5 weeks. Seven weeks after the administration of carcinogen was completed, the rats were sacrificed and sections of their livers were embedded in methacrylate. Serial sections 2 or 4 micron in thickness demonstrated the presence of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, acid phosphatase, adenosine triphosphatase, aldehyde dehydrogenase, alkaline phosphatase, alpha-naphthyl butyrate esterase, DT diaphorase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, and 5'-nucleotidase activity and glycogen. The use of 4-micron sections of methacrylate-embedded tissue allows the evaluation of many more phenotypic markers in serial sections than is currently possible with frozen sections.