Transgenic mouse lineages were established that carry the normal (M) or mutant (Z) alleles of the human alpha 1-antitrypsin (alpha 1-Pi) gene. All of the alpha 1-Pi transgenic mice expressed the human protein in the liver, cartilage, gut, kidneys, lymphoid macrophages, and thymus. The human M-allele protein was secreted normally into the serum. However, the human Z-allele protein accumulated in several cell types, but particularly in hepatocytes, and was found in serum in tenfold lower concentrations than the M-allele protein. Mice in one lineage carrying the mutant Z allele expressed high levels of human alpha 1-Pi RNA and displayed significant runting (50% of normal weight) in the neonatal period. This lineage was found to have alpha 1-Pi-induced liver pathology in the neonatal period, concomitant with the accumulation of human Z protein in diastase-resistant cytoplasmic globules that could be revealed in the Periodic acid-Schiff reaction (PAS). The phenotype of mice in the strain expressing high levels of the Z allele is remarkably similar to human neonatal hepatitis, and this strain may prove to be a useful animal model for studying this disease.

Transgenic mice suitable for the in vivo assay of suspected mutagens at the chromosome level have been constructed by stable integration of a lambda phage shuttle vector. The shuttle vector, which contains a beta-galactosidase (beta-gal) target gene, can be rescued from genomic DNA with in vitro packaging extracts. Mutations in the target gene are detected by a change in lambda phage plaque color on indicator agar plates. Initial rescue efficiencies of less than 1 plaque forming unit (pfu)/100 micrograms of genomic DNA were too low for mutation analysis. We determined the cause of the low rescue efficiencies by examining primary fibroblast cultures prepared from fetuses of lambda transgenic animals. The rescue efficiency of 5-azacytidine-treated cells increased 50-fold over non-treated controls indicating that methylation was inhibiting rescue. The inhibitory role of methylation was supported by the observation that mcr deficient E. coli plating strains and mcr deficient lambda packaging extracts further improved lambda rescue efficiency. Present rescue efficiencies of greater than 2000 pfu/copy/micrograms of genomic DNA represent a 100,000-fold improvement over initial rescue efficiencies, permitting quantitative mutational analysis. The background mutagenesis rate was estimated at 1 x 10(-5) in two separate lineages. Following treatment with the mutagen N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (EtNU), a dose dependent increase in the mutation rate was observed in DNA isolated from mouse spleen, with significant induction also observed in mouse testes DNA.

Transgenic mice were constructed using human alpha 1-antitrypsin M and Z genomic clones. Livers of the M lineage mice showed slight cellular pleomorphism and immunohistochemically demonstrable finely granular alpha 1-antitrypsin material in hepatocytes. Z lineage mice with five gene copies per haploid mouse genome (Z#1) demonstrated fine granular alpha 1-antitrypsin material and a few large globules. In contrast, Z lineage mice with 12 gene copies per haploid mouse genome (Z#2) demonstrated hepatocytes filled with homogeneous, eosinophilic globules that were strongly reactive with diastase and periodic acid-Schiff and antibody to alpha 1-antitrypsin. Scattered microscopic polymorphonuclear leukocyte accumulations were seen that contained extracellular alpha 1-antitrypsin material, but there was neither histological nor serological evidence of mouse infectious hepatitis. In young animals, small clusters of hepatocytes lacking alpha 1-antitrypsin material were seen. These cells were the dominant population in older animals and formed nodular arrangements. Fibrosis was not demonstrable in neonatal and young animals or in any of the controls, but perisinusoidal fibrosis was seen in older Z#2 mice. Groups of hepatocytes without alpha 1-antitrypsin material showed dysplastic changes. We conclude that the transgenic mouse is a reliable and useful model in which to study the effects of alpha 1-antitrypsin in the liver because it demonstrates changes similar to those in the human disease.

Z mutant-associated alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency in human beings leads to hepatitis and, in some cases, hepatocellular carcinoma. To begin to delineate the molecular basis for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma in alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency, we previously developed transgenic mice using human alpha 1-antitrypsin M and Z genomic clones. High-copy Z lineage mice (12 gene copies/haploid mouse genome; "Z#2") had hepatocytes distended with human alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency globules. Hepatitis was present, and the morphological changes mimicked those observed in human alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency-related liver disease. The numbers of hepatocytes containing alpha 1-antitrypsin globules decreased with age, and alpha 1-antitrypsin-negative nodular aggregates of hepatocytes increased in number and size. Hepatocytic dysplasia occurred as early as 6 wk and was almost universally present at 1 yr. Nodules of dysplastic cells demonstrating aneuploidy were seen as early as 10 wks. These became persistent, proliferative lesions. Dysplasia and aneuploidy distinctly increased with time and advancing microscopic stage as lesions progressed to malignancy. Tumors were seen after 1 yr as adenomas, which are aneuploid and most likely well-differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma, and borderline malignant lesions; and, in 82% of Z#2 mice 16 to 20 mo old, as invasive hepatocellular carcinoma. These observations suggest but do not conclusively prove that hepatocellular carcinoma in alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency and other hepatic disorders arises as a result of a common, endogenously stimulated pathway for hepatocellular carcinogenesis.

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