Effect of sex difference on the in vitro and in vivo metabolism of aflatoxin B1 by the rat. (1/92290)

Hepatic microsome-catalyzed metabolism of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) to aflatoxin M1 and aflatoxin Q1 and the "metabolic activation" of AFB1 to DNA-alylating metabolite(s) were studied in normal male and female Sprague-Dawley rats, in gonadectomized animals, and in castrated males and normal females treated with testosterone. Microsomes from male animals formed 2 to 5 times more aflatoxin M1, aflatoxin Q1, and DNA-alkylating metabolite(s) than those from females. Castration reduced the metabolism of AFB1 by the microsomes from males by about 50%, whereas ovariectomy had no significant effect on AFB1 metabolism by the microsomes from females. Testosterone treatment (4 mg/rat, 3 times/week for about 6 weeks) of castrated immature males and immature females enhanced the metabolism of AFB1 by their microsomes. A sex difference in the metabolism of AFB1 by liver microsomes was also seen in other strains of rats tested: Wistar, Long-Evans, and Fischer. The activity of kidney microsomes for metabolic activation was 1 to 4% that of the liver activity and was generally lower in microsomes from male rats as compared to those from female rats of Sprague-Dawley, Wistar, and Long-Evans strains. The in vitro results obtained with hepatic microsomes correlated well with the in vivo metabolism of AFB1, in that more AFB1 became bound in vivo to hepatic DNA isolated from male rats and from a female rat treated with testosterone than that isolated from control female rats. These data suggest that the differences in hepatic AFB1 metabolism may be the underlying cause of the sex difference in toxicity and carcinogenicity of AFB1 observed in rats.  (+info)

Tissue pharmacokinetics, inhibition of DNA synthesis and tumor cell kill after high-dose methotrexate in murine tumor models. (2/92290)

In Sarcoma 180 and L1210 ascites tumor models, the initial rate of methotrexate accumulation in tumor cells in the peritoneal cavity and in small intestine (intracellularly) after s.c. doses up to 800 mg/kg, showed saturation kinetics. These results and the fact that initial uptake in these tissues within this dosage range was inhibited to the expected relative extent by the simultaneous administration of leucovorin suggest that carrier mediation and not passive diffusion is the major route of drug entry at these extremely high doses. Maximum accumulation of intracellular drug occurred within 2 hr and reached much higher levels in small intestine than in tumor cells at the higher dosages. At a 3-mg/kg dose of methotrexate s.c., intracellular exchangeable drug levels persisted more than four times longer in L1210 cells than in small intestine, but differences in persistence (L1210 cell versus gut) diminished markedly with increasing dosage. At 96 mg/kg, the difference in persistence was less than 2-fold. In small intestine and L1210 cells, theduration of inhibition of DNA synthesis at different dosages correlated with the extent to which exchangeable drug was retained. Toxic deaths occurred when inhibition in small intestine lasted longer than 25 to 30 hr. Recovery of synthesis in small intestine and L1210 cells occurred synchronously and only below dosages of 400 mg/kg. Within 24 hr after dosages of greater than 24 mg/kg, the rate of tumor cell loss increased to a point characterized by a single exponential (t1/2=8.5 hr). The total cell loss, but not the rate of cell loss, was dose dependent.  (+info)

Explanations for the clinical and microscopic localization of lesions in pemphigus foliaceus and vulgaris. (3/92290)

Patients with pemphigus foliaceus (PF) have blisters on skin, but not mucous membranes, whereas patients with pemphigus vulgaris (PV) develop blisters on mucous membranes and/or skin. PF and PV blisters are due to loss of keratinocyte cell-cell adhesion in the superficial and deep epidermis, respectively. PF autoantibodies are directed against desmoglein (Dsg) 1; PV autoantibodies bind Dsg3 or both Dsg3 and Dsg1. In this study, we test the hypothesis that coexpression of Dsg1 and Dsg3 in keratinocytes protects against pathology due to antibody-induced dysfunction of either one alone. Using passive transfer of pemphigus IgG to normal and DSG3(null) neonatal mice, we show that in the areas of epidermis and mucous membrane that coexpress Dsg1 and Dsg3, antibodies against either desmoglein alone do not cause spontaneous blisters, but antibodies against both do. In areas (such as superficial epidermis of normal mice) where Dsg1 without Dsg3 is expressed, anti-Dsg1 antibodies alone can cause blisters. Thus, the anti-desmoglein antibody profiles in pemphigus sera and the normal tissue distributions of Dsg1 and Dsg3 determine the sites of blister formation. These studies suggest that pemphigus autoantibodies inhibit the adhesive function of desmoglein proteins, and demonstrate that either Dsg1 or Dsg3 alone is sufficient to maintain keratinocyte adhesion.  (+info)

Bone resorption induced by parathyroid hormone is strikingly diminished in collagenase-resistant mutant mice. (4/92290)

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) stimulates bone resorption by acting directly on osteoblasts/stromal cells and then indirectly to increase differentiation and function of osteoclasts. PTH acting on osteoblasts/stromal cells increases collagenase gene transcription and synthesis. To assess the role of collagenase in the bone resorptive actions of PTH, we used mice homozygous (r/r) for a targeted mutation (r) in Col1a1 that are resistant to collagenase cleavage of type I collagen. Human PTH(1-34) was injected subcutaneously over the hemicalvariae in wild-type (+/+) or r/r mice four times daily for three days. Osteoclast numbers, the size of the bone marrow spaces and periosteal proliferation were increased in calvariae from PTH-treated +/+ mice, whereas in r/r mice, PTH-induced bone resorption responses were minimal. The r/r mice were not resistant to other skeletal effects of PTH because abundant interstitial collagenase mRNA was detected in the calvarial periosteum of PTH-treated, but not vehicle-treated, r/r and +/+ mice. Calcemic responses, 0.5-10 hours after intraperitoneal injection of PTH, were blunted in r/r mice versus +/+ mice. Thus, collagenase cleavage of type I collagen is necessary for PTH induction of osteoclastic bone resorption.  (+info)

GM-CSF-deficient mice are susceptible to pulmonary group B streptococcal infection. (5/92290)

Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) gene-targeted mice (GM-/-) cleared group B streptococcus (GBS) from the lungs more slowly than wild-type mice. Expression of GM-CSF in the respiratory epithelium of GM-/- mice improved bacterial clearance to levels greater than that in wild-type GM+/+ mice. Acute aerosolization of GM-CSF to GM+/+ mice significantly enhanced clearance of GBS at 24 hours. GBS infection was associated with increased neutrophilic infiltration in lungs of GM-/- mice, while macrophage infiltrates predominated in wild-type mice, suggesting an abnormality in macrophage clearance of bacteria in the absence of GM-CSF. While phagocytosis of GBS was unaltered, production of superoxide radicals and hydrogen peroxide was markedly deficient in macrophages from GM-/- mice. Lipid peroxidation, assessed by measuring the isoprostane 8-iso-PGF2alpha, was decreased in the lungs of GM-/- mice. GM-CSF plays an important role in GBS clearance in vivo, mediated in part by its role in enhancing superoxide and hydrogen peroxide production and bacterial killing by alveolar macrophages.  (+info)

A new element within the T-cell receptor alpha locus required for tissue-specific locus control region activity. (6/92290)

Locus control regions (LCRs) are cis-acting regulatory elements thought to provide a tissue-specific open chromatin domain for genes to which they are linked. The gene for T-cell receptor alpha chain (TCRalpha) is exclusively expressed in T cells, and the chromatin at its locus displays differentially open configurations in expressing and nonexpressing tissues. Mouse TCRalpha exists in a complex locus containing three differentially regulated genes. We previously described an LCR in this locus that confers T-lineage-specific expression upon linked transgenes. The 3' portion of this LCR contains an unrestricted chromatin opening activity while the 5' portion contains elements restricting this activity to T cells. This tissue-specificity region contains four known DNase I hypersensitive sites, two located near transcriptional silencers, one at the TCRalpha enhancer, and another located 3' of the enhancer in a 1-kb region of unknown function. Analysis of this region using transgenic mice reveals that the silencer regions contribute negligibly to LCR activity. While the enhancer is required for complete LCR function, its removal has surprisingly little effect on chromatin structure or expression outside the thymus. Rather, the region 3' of the enhancer appears responsible for the tissue-differential chromatin configurations observed at the TCRalpha locus. This region, herein termed the "HS1' element," also increases lymphoid transgene expression while suppressing ectopic transgene activity. Thus, this previously undescribed element is an integral part of the TCRalphaLCR, which influences tissue-specific chromatin structure and gene expression.  (+info)

Prolonged eosinophil accumulation in allergic lung interstitium of ICAM-2 deficient mice results in extended hyperresponsiveness. (7/92290)

ICAM-2-deficient mice exhibit prolonged accumulation of eosinophils in lung interstitium concomitant with a delayed increase in eosinophil numbers in the airway lumen during the development of allergic lung inflammation. The ICAM-2-dependent increased and prolonged accumulation of eosinophils in lung interstitium results in prolonged, heightened airway hyperresponsiveness. These findings reveal an essential role for ICAM-2 in the development of the inflammatory and respiratory components of allergic lung disease. This phenotype is caused by the lack of ICAM-2 expression on non-hematopoietic cells. ICAM-2 deficiency on endothelial cells causes reduced eosinophil transmigration in vitro. ICAM-2 is not essential for lymphocyte homing or the development of leukocytes, with the exception of megakaryocyte progenitors, which are significantly reduced.  (+info)

Phenotype of mice and macrophages deficient in both phagocyte oxidase and inducible nitric oxide synthase. (8/92290)

The two genetically established antimicrobial mechanisms of macrophages are production of reactive oxygen intermediates by phagocyte oxidase (phox) and reactive nitrogen intermediates by inducible nitric oxide synthase (NOS2). Mice doubly deficient in both enzymes (gp91(phox-/-)/NOS2(-/-)) formed massive abscesses containing commensal organisms, mostly enteric bacteria, even when reared under specific pathogen-free conditions with antibiotics. Neither parental strain showed such infections. Thus, phox and NOS2 appear to compensate for each other's deficiency in providing resistance to indigenous bacteria, and no other pathway does so fully. Macrophages from gp91(phox-/-)/NOS2(-/-) mice could not kill virulent Listeria. Their killing of S. typhimurium, E. coli, and attenuated Listeria was markedly diminished but demonstrable, establishing the existence of a mechanism of macrophage antibacterial activity independent of phox and NOS2.  (+info)

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