[Cell proliferative activities of cholangiofibrosis induced in rats treated with bromodichloromethane]

To clarify whether bromodichloromethane (BDCM)-induced cholangiofibrosis progresses to cholangiocarcinoma, further morphological examinations were performed on the livers obtained from our previous experiment. The livers of Wistar rats fed diet containing 2200, 550, 140 or 0 ppm of microencapsulated BDCM up to 24 months were examined at months 6, 12, 18, and 24. The liver sections were stained with H-E, PAS and Azan, and were subjected to immunostaining using antiproliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) monoclonal antibody for determination of the PCNA labeling index of bile duct epithelia, as well as silver staining for nucleolar organizer regions (AgNORs). At month 6, the severity of hyperplasia of atypical bile duct epithelia in the 2200 ppm group was marked, their PCNA labeling index being highest (68.5). The number of bile ducts gradually decreased, and the severity of fibrosis became more marked, with prolongation of the treatment. The PCNA labeling index in hyperplastic bile ducts in this group also decreased to 31.5 at month 24. The number of AgNORs in the nuclei of bile duct epithelia in the 2200 ppm group was highest at month 6, but decreased thereafter. The present study suggests that the possibility of the progression from cholangiofibrosis to neoplastic lesions is extremelly low.