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Human hepatitis B virus and hepatocellular carcinoma II. Experimental induction of hepatocellular carcinoma in tree shrews exposed to hepatitis B virus and aflatoxin B1

  • Original Paper
  • Experimental Oncology
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Abstract

On the basis of the successful establishment of an animal model in tree shrews experimentally infected with human hepatitis B virus (HBV), a study on the hepatocarcinogenic effects of HBV and/or aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) was conducted. The results showed that the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was significantly higher in the animals both infected with HBV and exposed to AFB1 (52.94%) than in those solely infected with HBV (11.11%) or exposed to AFB1 (12.50%). No HCC of precancerous lesions were found in the controls that were neither HBV-infected nor AFB1-exposed. Precancerous lesions, including liver cell dysplasia and enzyme-altered hyperplastic hepatocyte foci, were observed before the occurrence of HCC, and the frequency of their appearance correlated well with the incidence of HCC. HBV DNA and the protein it encodes were detected in the cancer cells and/or the surrounding hepatocytes. Integration of HBV DNA inot the host liver genome was found during hepatocarcinogenesis among the animals infected by HBV. These results suggest that exposure to HBV and AFB1 may play a synergistic role in the development of HCC, and support the viewpoint of an aetiological relationship between HBV and HCC.

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Abbreviations

HCC :

hepatocellular carcinoma

HBV :

human hepatitis B virus

AFB1 :

aflatoxin B1

GGT foci :

hyperplastic hepatocyte foci positive for γ-glutamyltranspeptidase

LCD :

liver cell dysplasia

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, Guangxi Institute for Research on Cancer, 530021, Nanning, P.R. China

    Rui Qi Yan, Jian Jia Su, Ding Rui Huang, You Chuan Gan, Chun Yang & Guo Hua Huang

  2. Department of Pathology, Cancer Institute, Sun Yat-sen University of Medical Sciences, 510060, Guangzhou, P.R. China

    Rui Qi Yan

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  1. Rui Qi Yan
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  2. Jian Jia Su
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Yan, R.Q., Su, J.J., Huang, D.R. et al. Human hepatitis B virus and hepatocellular carcinoma II. Experimental induction of hepatocellular carcinoma in tree shrews exposed to hepatitis B virus and aflatoxin B1. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 122, 289–295 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01261405

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01261405

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