Growth-related alterations during liver carcinogenesis: effect of promoters.

Bromodeoxyuridine labeling of DNA, binuclearity counting, and flow cytometric analysis of isolated hepatocytes and hepatocyte nuclei has been used to assess hepatocellular growth patterns related to liver carcinogenesis. Three growth patterns can be distinguished. Mononucleating growth is observed during liver regeneration and after treatment with the tumor promoter 2-acetylaminofluorene (2-AAF) and its analogue 4-AAF. In this growth mode binucleation does not occur, resulting in a decrease in the fraction of binucleated cells. Binucleating growth is observed during normal liver development and after treatment with compounds such as phenobarbital, characterized by progressive polyploidization and maintenance of a binucleated cell fraction. Diploid growth is the growth pattern of neoplastic liver hepatocytes. Most of the cells in neoplastic lesions (foci, nodules, and carcinomas) are diploid, in contrast to the normal liver. Diploid tumor cells have a much higher proliferative activity than tetraploid tumor cells, suggesting that the latter may possess a limited growth potential that makes abrogation of binucleation proliferatively advantageous.