title: Chronic ethanol feeding increases apoptosis and cell proliferation in rat liver.
abstract: The present study was conducted to evaluate if the increased rate of apoptosis previously reported in the liver of ethanol-treated rats was accompanied by increased cell renewal. A quantitative analysis of apoptosis was performed in rats fed an ethanol-containing liquid diet for 5 weeks. S-phase cells were demonstrated by immunohistochemistry, using the Bromodeoxyuridine/anti-Bromodeoxyuridine method. In ethanol-fed rats apoptosis was five times greater than in pair-fed controls. Bromodeoxyuridine-labelled hepatocytes increased from 0.07 +/- 0.009% in controls to 0.17 +/- 0.013% (p < 0.001) and Bromodeoxyuridine-labelled lipocytes (desmin-positive sinusoidal cells) increased from 3.43 +/- 0.28% to 6.60 +/- 1.04% (p < 0.001). The lobular distribution of labelled cells was modified with a shift towards the perivenular areas. The results of this study suggest that the replacement of liver cells lost by ethanol-induced apoptosis is not impaired in intact (non-operated) animals. The impaired regeneration following partial hepatectomy reported in ethanol-fed rats is possibly due to differences in the extent of parenchymal loss, to altered relationships between hepatocytes and blood supply and to the modalities of regeneration involved.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, University of Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Baroni
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Marucci
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Benedetti
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mancini
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Jezequel
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Orlandi
mesh_terms: D000437:Alcoholism / Q000473:pathology*; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol