Inhibitory effect of dietary iron deficiency on the induction of putative preneoplastic foci in rat liver initiated with diethylnitrosamine and promoted by phenobarbital

• Published in: British journal of cancer Vol. 64; no. 5; pp. 839 - 842
• Main Authors: YOSHIJI, H, NAKAE, D, KINUGASA, T, MATSUZAKI, M, DENDA, A, TSUJII, T, KONISHI, Y
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basingstoke Nature Publishing Group 01-11-1991
• Subjects: Anemia, Hypochromic - blood; Anemia, Hypochromic - metabolism; Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Body Weight - drug effects; Carcinogenesis, carcinogens and anticarcinogens; Chemical agents; Diethylnitrosamine; Enzyme Induction; gamma-Glutamyltransferase - biosynthesis; Iron - blood; Iron - deficiency; Iron - physiology; Liver - anatomy & histology; Liver - enzymology; Liver - metabolism; Liver Neoplasms, Experimental - chemically induced; Liver Neoplasms, Experimental - enzymology; Liver Neoplasms, Experimental - metabolism; Male; Medical sciences; Organ Size - drug effects; Phenobarbital; Precancerous Conditions - chemically induced; Precancerous Conditions - enzymology; Precancerous Conditions - metabolism; Rats; Rats, Inbred F344; Tumors; Premalignant lesion; Deficient diet; Rat; Chemical compound; Liver; Nitrosamine; Rodentia; Iron; Carcinogenesis; Vertebrata; Experimental disease; Mammalia; Treatment; Animal; Digestive diseases
• ISSN: 0007-0920; 1532-1827
• DOI: 10.1038/bjc.1991.410

The effects of dietary iron deficiency on induction of putative preneoplastic, gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT)-positive hepatocyte focal lesions in the liver of rats treated with diethylnitrosamine (DEN) followed by phenobarbital (PB) were investigated. Male Fischer 344 rats of 4 weeks old were placed on an iron deficient (ID) diet containing less than 5 p.p.m. of iron or an iron supplemented (IS) diet containing 180 p.p.m. of iron throughout experimental period of 12 weeks. Both groups of rats were administered 200 mg kg-1 body weight of DEN by a single intraperitoneal injection at Week 4 followed by PB mixed into each diet at a concentration of 0.05% from Week 6 to the final sacrifice at Week 12 when induction of GGT-positive foci was quantitatively analysed. On the ID and IS diets, respective numbers of GGT-positive foci were 6.3 and 14.2 cm-2. The sizes of foci were not altered by the iron content of the diet. The present results indicate that iron plays a role in the development of preneoplastic foci in the livers of rats initiated with DEN and promoted by PB especially in the initiation phase.