THE INFLUENCE OF ALLOXAN AND DIETARY RESTRICTION ON RAT LIVER DESOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID (DNA)

Abstract

Rats fasted for 48 hours showed a decrease in liver mass and total number of nuclei. Although the liver content of DNA remains unchanged, an increase was noted in the amount of DNA per average nucleus, associated with an increase in the percentage of nuclei of higher ploidy. Alloxan treatment results in an elevation of 10-20 per cent in the DNA content per average nucleus when compared to ad libitum fed control rats. A comparison of alloxan treated rats with pair fed control animals showed no significant difference when the following were compared: liver and body weights, total number of nuclei and DNA content per liver, the average amount of DNA per nucleus, and ploidy distributions. These data suggest that the effect of alloxan on rat liver nuclei is the result of associated dietary factors rather than an effect of the chemical on the liver nucleoprotein.