The direct spectrophotometric observation of benzo(a)pyrene phenol formation by liver microsomes. (1/8813)

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)

Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases and insecticide resistance in insects. (2/8813)

Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases are involved in many cases of resistance of insects to insecticides. Resistance has long been associated with an increase in monooxygenase activities and with an increase in cytochrome P450 content. However, this increase does not always account for all of the resistance. In Drosophila melanogaster, we have shown that the overproduction of cytochrome P450 can be lost by the fly without a corresponding complete loss of resistance. These results prompted the sequencing of a cytochrome P450 candidate for resistance in resistant and susceptible flies. Several mutations leading to amino-acid substitutions have been detected in the P450 gene CYP6A2 of a resistant strain. The location of these mutations in a model of the 3D structure of the CYP6A2 protein suggested that some of them may be important for enzyme activity of this molecule. This has been verified by heterologous expression of wild-type and mutated cDNA in Escherichia coli. When other resistance mechanisms are considered, relatively few genetic mutations are involved in insecticide resistance, and this has led to an optimistic view of the management of resistance. Our observations compel us to survey in more detail the genetic diversity of cytochrome P450 genes and alleles involved in resistance.  (+info)

In vivo modulation of alternative pathways of P-450-catalyzed cyclophosphamide metabolism: impact on pharmacokinetics and antitumor activity. (3/8813)

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)

Hepatic cytochrome P-450 expression in tumor necrosis factor-alpha receptor (p55/p75) knockout mice after endotoxin administration. (4/8813)

Hepatic cytochromes P-450 (CYP) are well characterized drug and xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes that are extensively regulated by genetic and environmental factors. Inflammatory mediators, including interleukins (ILs), interferons (IFNs), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), have been shown to down-regulate several CYP isoforms; however, elucidation of the inflammatory mediators that are responsible for specific CYP down-regulation is difficult. The purpose of this experiment was to evaluate the role endogenous TNF-alpha plays in the regulation of liver CYP expression after endotoxin administration. Mice deficient in the p55 and p75 TNF receptors and wild-type mice were given Gram-negative bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and killed 24 h after administration. CYP analysis indicates that LPS decreases CYP1A, CYP2B, CYP3A, and CYP4A independently of TNF-alpha. CYP2D9 and CYP2E1 activities show differential responses to LPS between wild-type and TNF p55/p75 receptor knockout mice, indicating the down-regulation of CYP2D9 and CYP2E1 is differentially modulated by TNF-alpha expression. Furthermore, TNF-alpha appears to affect the constitutive expression of CYP2D9 and CYP2E1. To date, this is the first evidence suggesting that a proinflammatory cytokine is involved in the constitutive regulation of drug-metabolizing enzymes.  (+info)

The treatment of insulin resistance does not improve adrenal cytochrome P450c17alpha enzyme dysregulation in polycystic ovary syndrome. (5/8813)

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether metformin. when given to non-diabetic women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), results in a reduction of insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia while body weight is maintained. Also we aimed to see whether the reduction in insulin levels attenuates the activity of adrenal P450c17alpha enzyme in patients with PCOS. DESIGN: We investigated the 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP) and androstenedione responses to ACTH, insulin responses to an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and glucose disposal rate in an insulin tolerance test before and after metformin therapy (500 mg, orally, twice daily, for 12 weeks). METHODS: The presence of hyperinsulinemia in 15 women with PCOS was demonstrated by an OGTT and results were compared with those of 10 healthy women. Insulin sensitivity was measured by the rate of endogenous glucose disposal after i.v. bolus injection of insulin. 17-OHP and androstenedione responses to ACTH were measured in all the women with PCOS and the normal women. RESULTS: Women with PCOS were hyperinsulinemic (102.0+/-13.0 (S.E.M.) VS 46.2+/-4.4 pmol/l) and hyperandrogenemic (free testosterone 15.3+/-1.7 vs 7.9+/-0.6 nmol/l; androstenedione 11.8+/-0.8 vs 8.2+/-0.6 nmol/l) and more hirsute (modified Ferriman-Gallwey score, 17.7+/-1.6 vs 3.0+/-0.3) than healthy women. In addition, women with PCOS had higher 17-OHP and androstenedione responses to ACTH when compared with healthy women. Metformin therapy resulted in some improvement in insulin sensitivity and reduced the basal and post-glucose load insulin levels. But 17-OHP and androstenedione responses to ACTH were unaltered in response to metformin. CONCLUSIONS: PCOS is characterized by hyperactivity of the adrenal P450c17alpha enzyme and insulin resistance. It seems that there is no direct relationship between insulin resistance and adrenal P450c17alpha enzyme dysregulation.  (+info)

The repressed nuclear receptor CAR responds to phenobarbital in activating the human CYP2B6 gene. (6/8813)

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)

Induction of hepatic cytochromes P450 in dogs exposed to a chronic low dose of polychlorinated biphenyls. (7/8813)

Induction of cytochrome P450 isoforms, specifically CYP1A1, and their catalytic activities are potential biomarkers of environmental contamination by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). In this study, dogs were exposed to 25 ppm or 5 ppm Aroclor 1248 (PCB mixture) daily in their diet for 10 or 20 weeks, respectively. Relative to controls, hepatic microsomes from dogs dosed with PCBs had higher levels of CYP1A1 detected in immunoblots and higher levels of EROD activity, but low levels of induction for CYP2B and PROD activity. Concentrations of 96 PCB congeners in serum and liver were evaluated using capillary chromatography. Results showed that all dogs exposed to PCB mixtures had higher levels of PCB in serum and liver. Dogs preferentially sequestered highly chlorinated PCB congeners in liver relative to serum. With these experiments, we demonstrated that EROD activity was a potentially sensitive marker of PCB exposure at 5 and 25 ppm. Furthermore, CYP1A1 and EROD activity were maximally induced in dogs consuming dietary concentrations only 2.5 times the maximal permissible level for human food (FDA). The value of CYP1A1 induction as a biomarker of PCB exposure was tenuous because neither CYP1A1 levels nor EROD activity correlated with total PCB body burden. However, a small subset of congeners were identified in liver that may strongly influence EROD and PROD induction. Finally, two dogs in the 25 ppm dose group were fasted for 48 h. After 24 h of fasting, several new congeners appeared in the serum and remained in the serum for the remainder of the fast. The fast caused a 293% increase in PCB concentration in serum. This increase has strong implications regarding mobilization of toxic PCBs in wildlife during fasting (e.g., migration, hibernation).  (+info)

Metabolic characterization of a tripeptide human immunodeficiency virus type 1 protease inhibitor, KNI-272, in rat liver microsomes. (8/8813)

KNI-272 is a tripeptide protease inhibitor for treating human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). In in vitro stability studies using rat tissue homogenates, KNI-272 concentrations in the liver, kidney, and brain decreased significantly with time. Moreover, in tissue distribution studies, KNI-272 distributed highly to the liver, kidney, and small intestine in vivo. From these results and reported physiological parameters such as the tissue volume and tissue blood flow rate, we considered the liver to be the main organ which takes part in the metabolic elimination of KNI-272. Then the hepatic metabolism of KNI-272 was more thoroughly investigated by using rat liver microsomes. KNI-272 was metabolized in the rat liver microsomes, and five metabolites were found. The initial metabolic rate constant (kmetabolism) tended to decrease when the KNI-272 concentration in microsomal suspensions increased. The calculated Michaelis-Menten constant (K(m)) and the maximum velocity of KNI-272 metabolism (Vmax), after correction for the unbound drug concentration, were 1.12 +/- 0.09 micrograms/ml (1.68 +/- 0.13 microM) and 0.372 +/- 0.008 microgram/mg of protein/min (0.558 +/- 0.012 nmol/mg of protein per min), respectively. The metabolic clearance (CLint,metabo), calculated as Vmax/K(m), was 0.332 ml/mg of protein per min. Moreover, by using selective cytochrome P-450 inhibitors and recombinant human CYP3A4 fractions, KNI-272 was determined to be metabolized mainly by the CYP3A isoform. In addition, ketoconazole, a representative CYP3A inhibitor, inhibited KNI-272 metabolism competitively, and the inhibition constant (Ki) was 4.32 microM.  (+info)