Effect of Hepatic Injury on Induction of Adrenal Necrosis and Mammary Cancer by 7,12-Dimethylbenz[a]anthracene in rats2

Abstract

The effects of liver injury on induction of adrenal necrosis by 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) were studied. Feeding rats a fatty diet or intraperitoneal administration of carbon tetrachloride induced hepatic injury. Whereas the susceptibility of the adrenal cortex to induction of necrosis and hemorrhage was greatly enhanced in rats fed a fatty diet, it was not influenced in those treated with CCI₄. The mechanism by which the susceptibility of the adrenal cortex to injury by DMBA is increased is not clear. Induction of mammary cancer in rats with fatty liver was markedly retarded, but it was not affected in those treated with CCI₄. Rats fed a fatty diet had transiently impaired endocrine functions, but these impairments were not present in CCI₄-treated animals.