Identification of liver proteins and their roles associated with carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatotoxicity.

Carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4)) is a common hepatotoxin used in experimental models to elicit liver injury. To identify the proteins involved in CCl(4)-induced hepatotoxicity, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis was employed followed by mass spectrometry - mass spectrometry (MS/MS) to study the differentially expressed proteins during CCl(4) exposure in the Fischer 344 rat liver proteome for 5 weeks. Ten spots with notable changes between the Control and CCl(4) groups were successfully identified.

The cell cycle effects of docosahexaenoic acid on human metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma proliferation.

Given the reported side effects associated with chemotherapy and surgical resection, dietary intervention with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) has been postulated to be an alterative way to prevent liver cancer progression and metastasis. We studied the effects of an omega-3 PUFA, docahexaenoic acid (DHA) on COX-2 expression and the cell cycle control machinery that co-ordinately regulate the HCC cells growth. Our data showed that DHA (0-200 microM) retarded proliferation of the human metastatic HCC cell line MHCC97L dose-dependently.