Chemical alterations induced in mouse liver following a single feeding of carbon tetrachloride.

chemical processes involved in cellular damage and regeneration are of importance in neo plasia. Agents such as carbon tetrachloride pro duce a sequence of liver damage, regeneration, and hepatoma formation. A single feeding of carbon tetrachloride produces extensive liver necrosis in mice, followed by a rapid proliferation of the re maining uninjured cells, until a normal cornple ment of functioning tissue is restored (14). Be cause of the large number of liver cells rendered necrotic by carbon tetrachioride, an extensive syn thesis of cellular constituents must necessarily be required prior to a complete restoration of this tis sue. Relatively little is known regarding the nature of synthetic processes resulting in the growth of cells. An extensive series of investigations concern ing the relationships between nucleic acids and the synthesis of protein has been reviewed by Caspers son (6, 7). A chemical characterization of the necrosis and subsequent regenerative growth induced in mouse liver by carbon tetrachloride is complicated by a considerable overlapping between the two proc esses. Because of this complication, rigid histo pathological control is necessary for the proper in terpretation of the chemical findings. In view of the dynamic nature of tissue degeneration and re generation, a chemical characterization of these phenomena requires a number of investigations at various intervals throughout the extent of these processes. A series of experiments has been undertaken to investigate cellular necrosis and regenerative growth induced in mouse liver by feeding of carbon tetrachloride (18, 30). Some chemical alterations found to be associated with these processes will be described in this paper. The investigations in cluded analyses for water, lipids, and nucleic acids, C Aided by grants from the Atomic Energy Commission and the National Cancer Institute. t Post Doctorate Research Fellow of the National In stitutes of Health. as well as a general study of the distribution of nitrogen and phosphorus. The investigations to be reported were conducted in correlation with thor ough histological and histochemical studies (@9). Experiments were devised so that, following a single feeding of carbon tetrachloride, mice were sacrificed at various intervals until all degenerative and regenerative processes appeared to be com plete. EXPERIMENTAL All experiments were performed on male strain A mice, 3 months of age. Each experimental ani mal received a single feeding of 0.1 ml. of 40 per cent carbon tetrachloride in olive oil by stomach tube (14). Groups of mice were sacrificed at inter …