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Increased Rate of Apoptosis Correlates with Hepatocellular Proliferation in Fischer-344 Rats Following Long-Term Exposure to a Mixture of Groundwater ContaminantsCenter for Environmental Toxicology and Technology, Department of Environmental Health, constan{at}ciit.org
Department of Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523
Center for Environmental Toxicology and Technology, Department of Environmental Health
Department of Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523
Center for Environmental Toxicology and Technology, Department of Environmental Health Apoptosis was evaluated in the livers of Fischer-344 rats following observations of increased hepatocellular proliferation from exposures, at low parts per million (ppm) levels, to a drinking water mixture of 7 groundwater contaminants during a 6-mo time-course study. The 7 chemicals used are among the most frequently detected contaminants associated with hazardous waste sites: arsenic, benzene, chloroform, chromium, lead, phenol, and trichloroethylene. Significant increases in 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine hepatocellular labeling were present in a unique pattern surrounding large hepatic veins (0.5-2.0 mm). This did not appear to be a regenerative response due to cytotoxicity, as assessed by the absence of increased plasma enzyme activity and the absence of hepatocellular lesions. Immunohistochemical staining for apoptosis, using the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL) method showed patterns of labeling in treated animals that directly correlated to areas of increased hepatocyte proliferation. Apoptotic activity was maximum at the 1-mo exposure time point, whereas proliferating hepatocytes reached a maximum rate at the 10-day time point. This may have been triggered as a compensatory response to the increased cell proliferation or as a protective response to remove cells with altered DNA due to chemical mixture exposure. The principal findings of this paper are that (a) apoptosis directly correlated with changes in cell proliferation; (b) observed effects were produced by repeated exposures to a relatively low-level chemical mixture; and (c) the TUNEL method detected apoptotic cells at very early and late stages, potentially increasing the observable time period for apoptosis.
Key Words: Liver • terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL) method • bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) • chemical mixture • compensatory apoptosis • immunohistochemistry
Toxicologic Pathology, Vol. 24, No. 3,
315-322 (1996) This article has been cited by other articles:
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