Establishment and optimization of rat models for hepatic oval cells proliferation / 中华肝脏病杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To establish a rat model for hepatic oval cell proliferation and to observe the relationship between 2-acetaminofluorene (AAF) dosage and oval cell proliferation in the rat liver.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Male Wistar rats weighing 150 g received daily oral gavage of AAF for 4 days before operation and up to 7 days after operation. Two-thirds hepatectomy was performed on the 5th day and the gavage was not performed on the day of operation. AFF was given with the dosage of 2.5 mg/kg, 5 mg/kg, 10 mg/kg, 15 mg/kg, and 20 mg/kg body weight. Animals in control group were given saline. Three rats from each group were killed every 2~3 days after hepatectomy and liver slices were fixed and processed for routine histology and immunohistochemistry.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Hepatic oval cells were not observed in the liver of controls and only a few were detected in the liver of 2.5 mg/kg and 5 mg/kg groups. However, obvious oval cell proliferation was seen in the liver of 10 mg/kg, 15 mg/kg, and 20 mg/kg groups. Hepatic oval cells were stained positive for cytokeratin 19, OV6, vimentin and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Satisfactory rat models for hepatic oval cell proliferation can be obtained using our scheme when AAF is dosed at 10~20 mg/kg body weight.</p>