Studies in 2-acetylaminofluorene carcinogenesis. II. The in vitro uptake of alanine-1-C14 by preneoplastic liver and hepatoma mitochondrial protein.

Zamecnik et al. (19-21) demonstrated that sur viving DAB1 hepatoma slices incorporate more radioactivity from amino acids, carbohydrates, and related intermediates into slice proteins than do normal rat liver slices. This observation sug gested the desirability of testing the in vitro activi ty of liver preparations during AAF1 administra tion, thereby providing comparable information on this carcinogen. Since mitochondria were being prepared for the study of the intracellular compo sition of preneoplastic rat liver and AAF hepatoma (11), portions of these preparations were used for a study of alanine-1-C14 incorporation. The results support the view that the systems responsible for in vitro C14uptake are more active in the preneo plastic liver and the hepatoma than in normal liver.