Strain and species differences in the induction of ATPase-deficient hepatic foci by diethylnitrosamine.

Diethylnitrosamine (5 mg/kg) was intraperitoneally administered to rats, mice, guinea pigs and tupaias daily for 3 weeks. After 12 weeks of cessation, focal areas of ATPase-deficiency of hepatocytes appeared only in rats and, to a much lesser extent, in guinea pigs. Female rats were more sensitive than males and Wistar rats were less sensitive than Sprague-Dawley rats. These data show that quantitation of ATPase-deficient foci as a determinant of hepatocarcinogenicity is mainly restricted to the rat species.