Profound postinitiation enhancement by short-term severe methionine, choline, vitamin B12, and folate deficiency of hepatocarcinogenesis in F344 rats given a single low-dose diethylnitrosamine injection.

The potential promoting and/or complete carcinogenic activity of a methyl group-deficient (MD) diet lacking methionine, choline, vitamin B12, and folate on liver tumor induction in weanling male F344/NCr rats was examined. Each of 50 rats per group received one injection 20 mg diethylnitrosamine [(DENA) CAS: 55-18-5; N-nitrosodiethylamine]/kg body weight at 4 weeks of age, and then each was maintained on a methyl group-adequate (MA) diet for 52 weeks (groups 2 and 5) or on an MD diet for 15 weeks followed by the MA diet for 37 weeks (group 4). Controls received injections of saline and were maintained on the same two respective diet regimens (groups 1 and 3, respectively). Histologic results from sacrifices at 6, 10, 15, 22, 39, and 52 weeks revealed early development of foci of eosinophilic gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT)-positive hepatocytes by week 6 in DENA-MD diet-treated rats, with subsequent development of a diffuse hyperplasia of hepatocytes, oval cell proliferation, cholangiofibrosis, nodular cirrhosis, and neoplastic nodule (NN) formation and, at 52 weeks, hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) in 13 of 15 rats. Similar but significantly fewer lesions were observed at slightly later sacrifice times in the livers of saline-MD diet-treated rats, with development of NN in 5 of 12 rats and an HCC in 1 of 12 rats at 52 weeks. DENA-treated rats on MA diets developed relatively few GGT-positive foci, and none developed any neoplastic lesions. Except for basophilic foci, areas and foci of cellular alteration containing glycogen-rich hepatocytes frequently exhibited diminished uptake of injected iron and decreased glucose-6-phosphatase and ATPase contents focally or throughout. This study indicates that a relatively brief exposure of both untreated and DENA-treated weanling rats to a severely MD diet produces classical preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions in their livers.