Abstract
A 0.06 per cent solution of 3-amino-1, 2, 4-triazole (TR) was given daily to mice of dd strain as drinking water, and effects on both the activity of hepatic catalase and the number of hepatic cells, especially upon the mitosis of hepatic cells was observed.
On the other hand, 0.04 per cent of p-dimethylaminoazobenzene (DAB) has given as feed daily to mice as well as a 0.06 per cent solution of TR as drinking water, the activity of hepatic catalase of mice was observed.
The results obtained of the both experiments, and the conclusions are as follows:
i) The activity of hepatic catalase in mice to which only a TR solution was administered rapidly decreased in a week after the begining of experiment, reached to the minimum within three weeks, and began to show a tendency to increase slightly in the 4 th week.
On the contrary, the activity of hepatic catalase in mice to which DAB was fed besides a TR solution showed a tendency to flag quickly until the third week after the experiment was started, but began to increase a little at the 4 th week.
It began, however, to decline again, and after the 13 th week remained setled, showing no tendency either to increase or to decrease.
ii) Cytologically, abnormal forms and swellings of the nuclei of hepatic cells in mice became more conspicuous as the activity of hepatic catalase decreased. Moreover, nuclear division grew more active in proportion to the duration of experiment, and the number of nuclei in which mitosis took place was 51 out of 5, 000 cells in the liver at the 21 st week, and after that time remained settled and unchanged.
iii) Histochemically, the decrease of hepatic glycogen and abnormal forms of mitochondria were noticed. However, in all stages of the experiments, the development of cancer was never observed in the hepatic cells of mice.
