Changes in Deoxyribonucleic Acid Content of Rat Liver Cells During Ethionine Intoxication

Changes in the deoxyribonucleic acid content of individual liver-cell nuclei were followed, during chronic ethionine intoxication, by Feulgen microspectrophotometry and the two-wavelength method. During ethionine intoxication, while substantially all liver cells are either diploid or tetraploid, the ratio of their numbers changes from 0.2 diploid cells per tetraploid cell in the normal animal to 2.6 diploid cells per tetraploid cell after 9 weeks' intoxication. The extensively proliferating interstitial (ductular) cells belong almost completely to the diploid category. The possible explanations of these changes are discussed.