The direct spectrophotometric observation of benzo(a)pyrene phenol formation by liver microsomes.
(1/1573)
Optical spectral repetitive scan analysis during the oxidative metabolism of benzo(a)pyrene by liver microsomal suspensions reveals the time-dependent formation of an intermediate(s) of which the visible spectra resemble those of several benzo(a)pyrene phenols. Liver microsomes from 3-methylcholanthrene-treated rats showed a greater rate of formation of the phenols than did microsomes from control animals; the rate of formation catalyzed by liver microsomes from phenobarbital-pretreated rats was intermediate. When 3-hydroxybenzo(a)pyrene was used as a standard for comparison of activity, the rates of formation of phenols were compared when measured by fluorometric, spectrophotometric, or high-pressure liquid chromatographic analytical techniques. An epoxide hydrase inhibitor, 1,1,1-trichloropropene-2,3-oxide, enhanced phenol formation regardless of the source of liver microsomes, and 7,8-benzoflavone inhibited control and 3-methylcholanthrene-induced microsomal metabolism of benzo(a)pyrene, 7,8-Benzoflavone did not effect benzo(a)pyrene metabolism by liver microsomes from phenobarbital-pretreated rats. The effect of inhibitors on the spectrophotometric assay correlates well with the results obtained from benzo(a)pyrene metabolite analysis using high-pressure liquid chromatography. (+info)
In vivo modulation of alternative pathways of P-450-catalyzed cyclophosphamide metabolism: impact on pharmacokinetics and antitumor activity.
(2/1573)
The widely used anticancer prodrug cyclophosphamide (CPA) is activated in liver by a 4-hydroxylation reaction primarily catalyzed by cytochrome P-4502B and P-4502C enzymes. An alternative metabolic pathway involves CPA N-dechloroethylation to yield chloroacetaldehyde (CA), a P-4503A-catalyzed deactivation/neurotoxication reaction. The in vivo modulation of these alternative, competing pathways of P-450 metabolism was investigated in pharmacokinetic studies carried out in the rat model. Peak plasma concentrations (Cmax) for 4-OH-CPA and CA were increased by 3- to 4-fold, and apparent plasma half-lives of both metabolites were correspondingly shortened in rats pretreated with phenobarbital (PB), an inducer of P-4502B and P-4503A enzymes. However, PB had no net impact on the extent of drug activation or its partitioning between these alternative metabolic pathways, as judged from AUC values (area-under-the-plasma concentration x time curve) for 4-OH-CPA and CA. The P-4503A inhibitor troleandomycin (TAO) decreased plasma Cmax and AUC of CA (80-85% decrease) without changing the Cmax or AUC of 4-OH-CPA in uninduced rats. In PB-induced rats, TAO decreased AUCCA by 73%, whereas it increased AUC4-OH-CPA by 93%. TAO thus selectively suppresses CPA N-dechloroethylation, thereby increasing the availability of drug for P-450 activation via 4-hydroxylation. By contrast, dexamethasone, a P-4503A inducer and antiemetic widely used in patients with cancer, stimulated large, undesirable increases in the Cmax and AUC of CA (8- and 4-fold, respectively) while reducing the AUC of the 4-hydroxylation pathway by approximately 60%. Tumor excision/in vitro colony formation and tumor growth delay assays using an in vivo 9L gliosarcoma solid tumor model revealed that TAO suppression of CPA N-dechloroethylation could be achieved without compromising the antitumor effect of CPA. The combination of PB with TAO did not, however, enhance the antitumor activity of CPA, despite the approximately 2-fold increase in AUC4-OH-CPA, suggesting that other PB-inducible activities, such as aldehyde dehydrogenase, may counter this increase through enhanced deactivation of the 4-hydroxy metabolite. Together, these studies demonstrate that the P-4503A inhibitor TAO can be used to effectively modulate CPA metabolism and pharmacokinetics in vivo in a manner that decreases the formation of toxic metabolites that do not contribute to antitumor activity. (+info)
The repressed nuclear receptor CAR responds to phenobarbital in activating the human CYP2B6 gene.
(3/1573)
The endogenous CYP2B6 gene becomes phenobarbital (PB) inducible in androstenol-treated HepG2 cells either transiently or stably transfected with a nuclear receptor CAR expression vector. The PB induction mediated by CAR is regulated by a conserved 51-base pair element called PB-responsive enhancer module (PBREM) that has now been located between -1733 and -1683 bp in the gene's 5'-flanking region. An in vitro translated CAR acting as a retinoid X receptor alpha heterodimer binds directly to the two nuclear receptor sites NR1 and NR2 within PBREM. In a stably transfected HepG2 cell line, both PBREM and NR1 are activated by PB and PB-type compounds such as chlorinated pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls and chlorpromazine. In addition to PBREM, CAR also transactivates the steroid/rifampicin-response element of the human CYP3A4 gene in HepG2 cells. Thus, activation of the repressed nuclear receptor CAR appears to be a versatile mediator that regulates PB induction of the CYP2B and other genes. (+info)
Properties of 5-aminolaevulinate synthetase and its relationship to microsomal mixed-function oxidation in the southern armyworm (Spodoptera eridania).
(4/1573)
1. Activity of 5-aminolaevulinate synthetase was measured in the midgut and other tissues of the last larval instar of the southern armyworm (Spodoptera eridania Cramer, formerly Prodenia eridania Cramer). 2. Optimum conditions for measuring the activity were established with respect to all variables involved and considerable differences from those reported for mammalian enzyme preparations were found. 3. Maximum activity (20 nmol/h per mg of protein) occurs 18-24 h after the fifth moult and thereafter decreases to trace amounts as the larvae age and approach pupation. 4. Synthetase activity was rapidly induced by oral administration (in the diet) of pentamethylbenzene, phenobarbital, diethyl 1,4-dihydro-2,4,6-trimethylpyridine-3, 5-dicarboxylate, and 2-allyl-2-isopropylacetamide. 5. Puromycin inhibited the induction of synthetase by pentamethylbenzene. 6. Induction of 5-aminolaevulinate synthetase correlated well with the induction of microsomal N-demethylation of p-chloro-N-methylaniline, except for phenobarbital, which induced the microsomal oxidase relatively more than the synthetase. (+info)
7-ethoxycoumarin deethylation activity in perfused isolated rat brain.
(5/1573)
7-ethoxycoumarin (7-EC) deethylation activity was measured in the perfused rat brain in situ. Infusion of 7-EC into a brain through an internal carotid artery resulted in the formation of 7-hydroxycoumarin (7-HC) and its conjugates in the effluent perfusate collected from the superior vena cava. The rate of formation of products was 200 nmol/h/g when 130 microM 7-EC was infused. This value was much higher (more than 100 times) than that determined from the brain microsomal activity ( approximately 1 nmol/h/g), indicating that the activity determined with microsomes was an underestimate. This value was comparable to the activity in the perfused liver (30-50%), suggesting that drug metabolizing enzymes can play important roles within the brain. Pretreatment of rats with P-450 inducers such as phenobarbital and beta-naphthoflavone increased the deethylation activity in the perfused brain, as in the perfused liver. We conclude that the perfused brain is suitable for evaluating drug metabolizing activities under physiological conditions. (+info)
Effect of cryopreservation on cytochrome P-450 enzyme induction in cultured rat hepatocytes.
(6/1573)
In the present study, we evaluated the inducibility of cytochrome P-450 (CYP) CYP1A, CYP2B, CYP3A, and CYP4A by beta-naphthoflavone, phenobarbital, dexamethasone, and clofibric acid, respectively, in primary hepatocyte cultures prepared from both fresh and cryopreserved rat hepatocytes. Rat hepatocytes were successfully thawed and cultured after cryopreservation in liquid nitrogen for up to 1 month. Percentage of total recovery, viable cell recovery, and final viability of the cells were 68%, 72%, and 85%, respectively. Regardless of whether they were cryopreserved or not, cultured hepatocytes exhibited near-normal morphology. Treatment of cryopreserved hepatocytes with beta-naphthoflavone caused an 8-fold increase in 7-ethoxyresorufin O-dealkylase (CYP1A1/2) activity, with an EC50 of 1.5 microM; treatment with phenobarbital caused a 26-fold increase in 7-pentoxyresorufin O-dealkylase (CYP2B1/2) activity, with an EC50 of 10 microM; treatment with dexamethasone caused a 10-fold increase in testosterone 6beta-hydroxylase (CYP3A1/2) activity, with an EC50 of 1.3 microM, whereas treatment with clofibric acid caused a 3-fold increase in lauric acid 12-hydroxylase (CYP4A1-3) activity, with an EC50 of 170 microM. The induction of CYP1A, CYP2B, CYP3A, and CYP4A enzymes by these inducers was confirmed by Western immunoblotting. The patterns of P-450 induction in cryopreserved rat hepatocytes, in terms of concentration response, reproducibility, magnitude, and specificity of response, were similar to those observed in freshly isolated hepatocytes. Additionally, the magnitude and specificity of induction was similar to that observed in vivo in rats. In conclusion, under the conditions examined, cryopreserved rat hepatocytes appear to be a suitable in vitro system for evaluating xenobiotics as inducers of P-450 enzymes. (+info)
Induction of CYP1A2 by phenobarbital in the livers of aryl hydrocarbon-responsive and -nonresponsive mice.
(7/1573)
The effects of phenobarbital treatment on the expression of the cytochrome P-450 (CYP or P-450) enzyme CYP1A2 in the livers of mice of various strains were examined. Phenobarbital induced the expression of CYP1A2 at the levels of mRNA, protein, and enzyme activity (methoxyresorufin O-demethylation and metabolic activation of 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline) in both aryl hydrocarbon-responsive [C57BL/6NCrj (C57BL/6), C3H/HeJSlc] and -nonresponsive (DBA/2NCrj, AKR/JSea, NZB/NSlc) mouse strains. The induction of CYP2B10, which is known as a phenobarbital-inducible P-450 in mice, was prominent in the livers of all five strains examined, whereas clear inductive effects on the P-450 CYP2B9 were not observed in female C57BL/6 and female DBA/2NCrj mice. These results indicate that CYP1A2 is a member of the family of phenobarbital-inducible genes in mice and suggest that the aryl hydrocarbon receptor-dependent induction pathway is not involved in the induction of CYP1A2. This concept is in accordance with those proposed by other laboratories recently using the AhR knockout mice. The following are new observations of this report. The magnitude of the increases in the CYP1A2 mRNA, protein, and enzyme activities were comparable among these three levels (ranging from 1.4- to 3. 1-fold), suggesting that the induction of CYP1A2 by phenobarbital is mainly determined at a pretranslational level. Cyclobarbital, pentobarbital, and secobarbital also induced CYP1A2 mRNA in primary culture hepatocytes from C57BL/6 mice. Barbital, in contrast, did not show any clear inductive effect on CYP1A2 mRNA. (+info)
Developmental aspects of glutathione S-transferase B (ligandin) in rat liver.
(8/1573)
The postnatal development in male Sprague-Dawley rats of hepatic glutathione S-transferase B (ligandin) in relation to the other glutathione S-transferases is described. The concentration of glutathione S-transferase B in 1-day-old male rats is about one-fifth of that in adult animals. The enzyme reaches adult concentrations 4-5 weeks later. When assessed by substrate specificity or immunologically, the proportion of transferase B relative to the other glutathione S-transferases is high during the first week after birth. At this age, 67.5% of the transferase activity towards 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene is immunoprecipitable by anti-(transferase B), compared with about 50% in adults and older pups. Between the second and the fifth postnatal week, the fraction of transferase B increases in parallel fashion with the other transferases in hepatic cytosol. Neither L-thyroxine nor cortisol induce a precocious increase in glutathione S-transferase activity. Phenobarbital did induce transferase activity towards 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene and 1,2-dichloro-4-nitrobenzene in both pups and adults. The extent of induction by phenobarbital was a function of basal activity during development such that the percentage stimulation remained constant from 5 days postnatally to adulthood. (+info)