Abstract
In the present study, the chemopreventive effect of the active metabolite of vitamin D, 1alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) (VD(3)), against chemically-induced and diabetes-promoted rat liver carcinogenesis was investigated. Hepatocarcinogenesis was initiated with a single intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of diethylnitrosamine (DEN) (125 mg kg(-1) body weight) at week 4 followed by promotion with streptozotocin (STZ) (65 mg kg(-1) body weight with a single i.p. injection) at week 7. With this basic experimental regimen, the effect of VD(3) (0.3 microg (0.1 ml)(-1) propylene glycol per os twice a week) was investigated with effect from 4 weeks prior to the exposure of DEN. The results showed that VD(3) supplementation throughout the experimental period reduced the incidence, total number and multiplicity and altered the size of visible persistent nodules (PNs) in DEN- or DEN + STZ-treated rats as compared with their respective controls. In these two groups, it also caused a significant decrease in the number (p < 0.002 and 0.001 respectively) and focal area (p < 0.05) of gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT)-positive hepatic foci. Moreover, continuous supplementation of VD(3) exhibits a protective effect in maintaining the normal cellular architecture of the hepatocytes in DEN- or DEN + STZ-treated rats. Our results thus strongly suggest that VD(3) is very effective in the inhibition of DEN-initiated and STZ-induced diabetes-promoted rat liver carcinogenesis.
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