Evaluation of genotoxicity, pathological lesions, and cell proliferation in livers of rats and mice treated with furan

Preliminary results from the National Toxicology Program (NTP) bioassays of furan given by gavage indicate the induction of hepatocellular carcinomas in male F‐344 rats and in both sexes of B6C3F1 mice, and cholangiocarcinomas in both sexes of rats. To assess the genotoxicity of furan, chemically induced unscheduled DNA synthesis was evaluated in the in vivo hepatocyte DNA repair assay. Furan did not induce unscheduled DNA synthesis in hepatocytes isolated after single gavage treatment of male F‐344 rats (5, 30, and 100 mg/kg) or male B6C3F1 mice (10, 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg). Furan induced cytotoxicity and enhanced cell proliferation were evaluated in livers of rats and mice as events that also might give rise to mutations and/or drive tumor formation. The labeling index (Ll, percentage of hepatocyte nuclei in S‐phase) was measured histoautoradiographically following a single gavage administration of furan (30 mg/kg, male rats; 50 mg/kg, male mice) followed by an injection of 3H‐thymidine 2 hr prior to sacrifice. Hepatocellular necrosis and a sharp increase in Ll (23.9 for mice and 17.8 for rats vs. less than 0.5 for controls) was observed 48 hr after treatment with furan, indicative of restorative cell proliferation secondary to cytotoxicity. Hepatocyte proliferation was evaluated also at the highest NTP bioassay dose (15 mg/kg/day for mice and 8 mg/kg/day for rats, 5 days/week) by labeling with 3H‐thymidine administered via a 6 day osmotic pump implanted subcutaneously. Necrosis and inflammation were observed along the subcapsular visceral surface of the left or caudate liver lobes, likely due to diffusion of furan directly through the stomach to the liver. After 6 weeks of furan administration, male and female rats, but not mice, exhibited bile duct hyperplasia as well as metaplasia in the areas of fibrosis along the subcapsular visceral surface of the left or caudate liver lobes. The fold increase in hepatocyte Ll in treated animals relative to the combined controls measured at weeks 1, 3, and 6 ranged from 39 to 5 for male mice, 18 to 51 for male rats, and 12 to 19 for female rats. Taken together, these data suggest that mechanisms other than direct DNA‐reactivity might explain the profile of oncogene mutations observed in the mouse liver tumors, including selective promotion of different subpopulations of preneoplastic cells and/or mutational events secondary to sustained cell proliferation or inflammation. The extensive amount of furan‐induced cell proliferation subsequent to cytotoxicity likely had a significant impact on tumor development, and such data should be considered in risk evaluations for this compound.