Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 20, 2026

The Dimethylnitrosamine Induced Liver Fibrosis Model in the Rat
Published on: June 17, 2016
The association between histopathologic effects and liver weight changes induced in mice and rats by chemical
Roman Mezencev1, Madison Feshuk2, Lori Kolaczkowski2,3
1Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, Office of Research and Development, US EPA, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
Abstract:
Absolute (ALW) and relative (RLW) liver weight changes are sensitive endpoints in repeat-dose rodent toxicity studies, and their changes are often used for quantitative assessment of health effects induced by hepatotoxic chemicals using the benchmark dose-response modeling (BMD) approach. To find biologically relevant liver weight changes to chemical exposures, we evaluated all data available for liver weight changes and associated liver histopathologic findings from the Toxicity Reference Database (ToxRefDB). Our analysis of 389 subchronic mouse and rat studies for 273 chemicals found significant differences in treatment-related ALW and RLW changes between dose groups with and without liver histopathologic changes. In addition, we demonstrate that chemical treatment-induced ALW and RLW changes can predict the presence of histopathologic findings and inform the selection of biologically relevant liver weight changes for BMD modeling and derivation of toxicity values.
Related Concept Videos
Toxic Reactions: Overview
Toxicity falls into two primary categories: local and systemic.
Local toxicity appears at the exposure site, such as protein denaturation caused by caustic substances.
In contrast, systemic toxicity requires the toxic agent's absorption and distribution,...
Effect of Hepatic Disease on Pharmacokinetics: Pathophysiologic Assessment and Liver Function Test
Toxicity Testing in Animals

