Rapid Uptake of Dietary Cholesterol by Hyperplastic Liver Nodules and Primary Hepatomas

Hyperplastic liver nodules and primary hepatomas induced by 2-acetylaminofluorene take up cholesterol-³H, given p.o., at a rate only slightly less than that in normal liver, and 10 to 30-fold greater than that reported for transplantable hepatomas. In the case of primary hepatomas, the rate of uptake appeared to be related to the degree of differentiation and hence a function of tumor progression. Previous studies on regulation of cholesterol synthesis in primary hepatomas and cholesterol uptake studies in transplantable hepatomas may need to be reinterpreted in view of these results.