Cholinergic nerves mediate acetaldehyde action in the gastrointestinal tract.
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The regulation mechanism of inhibition of intestinal ethanol absorption induced by high acetaldehyde (AcH) concentration in blood was investigated. We used atropine (AT), atropine methylbromide (ATMB), pirenzepine (PI), bethanechol (BE) and pilocarpine (PL) with or without cyanamide (CY; a potent inhibitor of aldehyde dehydrogenase, which induces high AcH concentration in blood). The K(a) (absorption rate constant) value after the CY-alone pretreatment was significantly lower than that in controls. In the high AcH-induced cases, the values of K(a) in AT and ATMB pretreatments were similar to controls, but the value of K(a) in PI pretreatment was lower than that in controls. The values of K(a) in the case of BE pretreatment with and without high AcH levels were lower than in controls. The K(a) value in the PL with CY was significantly lower than that with CY alone. However, its action was blocked by ATMB pretreatment. These results suggest that high blood AcH concentrations inhibit intestinal ethanol absorption through the peripheral cholinergic nerves via muscarinic receptors, except for the muscarinic M(1) receptor, compared to other subtypes of muscarinic receptors. (+info)
The T cell regulator gene SH2D2A contributes to the genetic susceptibility of multiple sclerosis.
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The T cell specific adapter protein (TSAd) encoded by the SH2D2A gene is involved in the control of T cell activation. The gene is located in the 1q21 region, which has been implicated in susceptibility to experimental allergic encephalomyelitis in the mouse. We therefore evaluated whether a polymorphic GA repeat (GA(13)-GA(33)) within the promoter region of the SH2D2A gene shows association to multiple sclerosis (MS). The frequency of the short alleles GA(13-16) was increased among 313 Norwegian MS patients compared to 277 healthy controls (0.332 vs 0.249, OR 1.5, Pc = 0.03). Transmission disequilibrium analysis in 146 Scandinavian families with at least two affected sibs showed increased transmission of GA(16) to MS patients. No linkage or association of MS to four genetic markers flanking the SH2D2A gene was observed. After activation of naive CD4(+) T cells, T cells homozygous for MS associated short alleles displayed lower level of TSAd ex vivo than T cells carrying at least one long allele, which were not associated to MS. Since the SH2D2A protein modulates T cell activation, this may be a mechanism for how short SH2D2A alleles confer susceptibility to develop MS. (+info)
Eliciting the low-activity aldehyde dehydrogenase Asian phenotype by an antisense mechanism results in an aversion to ethanol.
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A mutation in the gene encoding for the liver mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2-2), present in some Asian populations, lowers or abolishes the activity of this enzyme and results in elevations in blood acetaldehyde upon ethanol consumption, a phenotype that greatly protects against alcohol abuse and alcoholism. We have determined whether the administration of antisense phosphorothioate oligonucleotides (ASOs) can mimic the low-activity ALDH2-2 Asian phenotype. Rat hepatoma cells incubated for 24 h with an antisense oligonucleotide (ASO-9) showed reductions in ALDH2 mRNA levels of 85% and ALDH2 (half-life of 22 h) activity of 55% equivalent to a >90% inhibition in ALDH2 synthesis. Glutamate dehydrogenase mRNA and activity remained unchanged. Base mismatches in the oligonucleotide rendered ASO-9 virtually inactive, confirming an antisense effect. Administration of ASO-9 (20 mg/kg/day for 4 d) to rats resulted in a 50% reduction in liver ALDH2 mRNA, a 40% inhibition in ALDH2 activity, and a fourfold (P < 0.001) increase in circulating plasma acetaldehyde levels after ethanol (1 g/kg) administration. Administration of ASO-9 to rats by osmotic pumps led to an aversion (-61%, P < 0.02) to ethanol. These studies provide a proof of principle that specific inhibition of gene expression can be used to mimic the protective effects afforded by the ALDH2-2 phenotype. (+info)
Retinoic acid biosynthesis by normal human breast epithelium is via aldehyde dehydrogenase 6, absent in MCF-7 cells.
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Retinoic acid (RA) is the form of vitamin A that controls differentiation and proliferation of epithelia. Our previous work established that normal breast epithelia synthesize RA from retinol, an ability retained by three immortalized but nontumorigenic cell lines but lost in five of six breast cell lines. In this work, we characterize the cause of this defect in one of the lines, the MCF-7 line. We have determined that the immortalized but nontumorigenic cell line, MTSV1.7, capable of synthesizing RA from both retinol and retinal, contains a retinaldehyde dehydrogenase activity for the second step in RA biosynthesis. We have identified it, after isolation, as a previously described enzyme, aldehyde dehydrogenase 6 (ALDH6). Immunohistochemical analysis of normal human breast with antibodies to ALDH6 showed expression of this enzyme in the glandular epithelia colocalized with cellular RA-binding protein type II, a possible marker for certain cells able to synthesize RA. ALDH6 was not present in MCF-7 cells, and these cells were unable to oxidize retinal to RA in culture. When MCF-7 cells were then transfected with ALDH6, they (re)gained the ability to oxidize retinal to RA as well as some ability to synthesize RA when provided with retinol. This suggests that loss of ALDH6 expression is the defect in RA biosynthesis in these cells. Identification of ALDH6 as the retinaldehyde dehydrogenase present in normal human breast epithelia provides the first tool necessary for studying the loss of RA synthetic ability in cancer cells and the relationship of this process to malignant transformation. (+info)
Azotobacter vinelandii aldehyde dehydrogenase regulated by sigma(54): role in alcohol catabolism and encystment.
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Encystment in Azotobacter vinelandii is induced by n-butanol or beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB). We identified a gene, encoding an aldehyde dehydrogenase, that was named aldA. An aldA mutation impaired bacterial growth on n-butanol, ethanol, or hexanol as the sole carbon source. Expression of aldA increased in cells shifted from sucrose to n-butanol and was shown to be dependent on the alternative sigma(54) factor. A mutation in rpoN encoding the sigma(54) factor also impaired growth on alcohols. Encystment on n-butanol, but not on BHB, was impaired in aldA or rpoN mutants, indicating that n-butanol is not an inducer of encystment by itself but must be catabolized in order to induce encystment. (+info)
NAD(P)-dependent aldehyde dehydrogenases induced during growth of Ralstonia eutropha strain Bo on tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol.
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Different aldehyde dehydrogenases (AlDHs) were formed during growth of Ralstonia eutropha Bo on tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol (THFA). One of these enzymes, AlDH 4, was purified and characterized as a homodimer containing no prosthetic groups, showing a strong substrate inhibition, and having an N-terminal sequence similar to those of various NAD(P)-dependent AlDHs. The conversion rate of THFA by the quinohemoprotein THFA dehydrogenase was increased by AlDH 4. (+info)
Tumour-related enzyme alterations in the clear cell type of human renal cell carcinoma identified by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis.
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To identify tumour-related enzyme alterations we have used 2D-gels to analyse the proteome from dissected malignant and benign kidney areas from patients with clear-cell-type renal carcinoma. The expression of 12 proteins was diminished in tumour. Four proteins were characterized by mass spectrometry and were identified as enoyl-CoA hydratase, alpha-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 and aminoacylase-I. (+info)
Inhibition of carboxyethylphosphoramide mustard formation from 4-hydroxycyclophosphamide by carmustine.
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It has been reported that the toxicity of carmustine (BCNU)/cyclophosphamide (CY)/etoposide regimen (when BCNU is split into 4 doses) is less than that of BCNU/CY/cisplatin regimen (when the same amount of BCNU is administered as a single dose). We hypothesized that this might in part be due to the inhibition of aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1) by BCNU or its degradation product, 2-chloroethyl isocyanate, which is likely to be more pronounced at the higher BCNU dose. The effects of BCNU and 2-chloroethyl isocyanate on the formation of carboxyethylphosphoramide mustard (CEPM) from 4-hydroxycyclophosphamide (HCY) was evaluated in human liver cytosol incubations. We found that CEPM formation from HCY was inhibited strongly by BCNU and weakly by 2-chloroethyl isocyanate. The mechanism of inhibition of ALDH1 activity by BCNU was elucidated using indole-3-acetaldehyde (IAL) as the probe substrate in ALDH1 prepared from human erythrocytes. BCNU was a competitive inhibitor of ALDH1 activity with a K(i) of 1.95 microM. The inhibition was independent of preincubation time and reversible by dialysis. The calculated %inhibition of ALDH1 activity by acrolein and BCNU in patients receiving BCNU in 4 split doses with CY was 81%, and it increased to 92% in single dose BCNU regimen. Thus, the calculation indicates that residual operating ALDH1 activity is halved in the presence of single-dose BCNU compared to split-dose BCNU. The inhibition of ALDH1 may contribute to the observed lower incidence of toxicity when BCNU was split into 4 doses compared with single dose and coadministered with CY although dose-dependent effects of BCNU on glutathione and glutathione reductase are also likely to contribute. (+info)