Prevention by methionine of enhancement of hepatocarcinogenesis by coadministration of a choline-deficient L-amino acid-defined diet and ethionine in rats

The effects of methionine on hepatocarcinogenesis induced by coadministration of a choline-deficient L-amino acid-defined (CDAA) diet and ethionine were examined. F344 male rats were divided into 4 experimental groups. Groups 1 and 2 received the CDAA diet and a choline-supplemented L-amino acid-defined (CSAA) diet, respectively. Group 3 received the CDAA diet containing 0.05% ethionine, and group 4 the CDAA diet containing 0.05% ethionine and 0.47% methionine. Animals were killed after 12 weeks of treatment. Histologically, the CDAA diet induced intracellular fat accumulation and foci. In contrast, ethionine caused not only foci, but also hyperplastic nodules, cholangiofibrosis and the proliferation of oval cells without such fat accumulation. Methionine abolished the development of all of the liver lesions induced by coadministration of the CDAA diet and ethionine. To investigate the effects of methionine on induction of c-myc and c-Ha-ras expression, as well as generation of 8-hydroxyguanine (8-OHGua) and 2-thiobarbituric acid-reacting substances (TEARS), by coadministration of the CDAA diet and ethionine, subgroups of 3 to 5 animals were killed at 2, 4, 8 or 11 days after the beginning of the experiment. Coadministration of the CDAA diet and ethionine markedly enhanced the level of expression of c-myc and c-Ha-ras, 8-OHGua formation and TBARS generation as compared with the CDAA or CSAA diet within 11 days, and methionine blocked these actions. These results indicate that addition of methionine prevents the induction of c-myc and c-Ha-ras expression, 8-OHGua formation and TBARS generation, as well as hepatocellular lesions, by coadministration of the CDAA diet and ethionine in rats, and suggest a possible involvement of oxidative stress and gene expression in hepatocarcinogenesis by these agents.