Steroid receptor status of focal-nodular hyperplasia of the human liver.

As with normal human liver, both focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH) of the liver and a hepatocellular carcinoma were found to contain low levels of high affinity estrogen-binding components. In low-salt sucrose gradients the estrogen binders sedimented at 4S and 8S. Specificity studies indicated a requirement for estrogenic hormones. Progestin-binding studies using labeled and unlabeled ORG 2058 revealed high levels of specific binding in FNH and normal liver cytosol, whereas only insignificant amounts of ORG 2058 binding was found in the hepatocellular carcinoma. As judged by the high apparent dissociation constant (4-14 X 10(-8) mol/l) of the ORG 2058 - binder complex, the apparent lack of 8S binding in low-salt sucrose gradients and the atypical ligand specificity, the progestin receptor nature of these binding entities is unlikely. In contrast, normal liver, FNH, and the hepatocellular carcinoma were found to contain significant quantities of glucocorticoid receptors.