An In Vivo Method for Using 5-Bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) as a Marker of Chemically-Induced Hepatocellular Proliferation in the Japanese Medaka (Oryzias latipes)

Abstract

Japanese medaka fish ( Oryzias latipes) were used to develop an in vivo method to assess hepatocellular proliferation in a nonmammalian model. Proliferative responses were assessed in medaka at 7, 17, 24, and 94 days after a 48-hour exposure to 10 or 100 mg/L diethylnitrosamine (DEN). Subgroups of medaka were exposed to 50 or 75 mg/L of 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) in water for 72 hours, sacrificed, and then processed for immunohistochemical staining. Proliferative indices of BrdU-labeled hepatocytes were quantified and compared using both count and area measurements. There was a significant increase ( p < 0.05) in hepatocellular proliferation in the 100 mg/L DEN-treated fish as compared to controls and 10 mg/L DEN-treated fish for the first 3 time points. Hepatocarcinogenicit y was evaluated 26 weeks post-DEN exposure. There was a significant increase ( p < 0.0001) in hepatocellular neoplasms in 100 mg/L DEN-treated fish compared to other fish. Effective BrdU-labeling of S-phase hepatocytes in medaka was achieved by adding BrdU to the aquarium water, and an increase in hepatocellular proliferation using this method was detected 7 days after exposure to a carcinogenic concentration of DEN. Additionally, the new method of area measurement indices of proliferation were as precise as count indices (R2≥0.92).