Is it possible for man to develop "resistance" to the risk from environmental mutagens?
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Drug Resistance↗
Biomedical subjects
A Kappas
Publications and source records attributed to A Kappas.
Heme binding to murine erythroleukemia cells. Evidence for a heme receptor.
Friend virus transformed murine erythroleukemia (MEL) cells are known to take up heme from the surrounding medium and to incorporate it into newly synthesized hemoglobin (Granick, J. L., and Sassa, S. (1978) J. Biol. Chem. 253, 5402-5406), but the mechanism of its uptake is unknown. We hypothesized the existence of a specific receptor for heme in the plasma membrane. Using [55Fe]heme, we examined the characteristics of its interaction with MEL cells at 4 degrees C. [55Fe]heme binding reached equilibrium within 4 h, was 80% dissociable by 16 h, and was independent of pH over the range 7.0-8.2. Specific heme binding was linear with cell number, and competitive binding studies with various heme analogues, such as free protoporphyrin IX, metal-substituted protoporphyrin IX, Fe-mesoporphyrin IX, and Fe-deuteroporphyrin IX, revealed significant stereospecificity for Fe-protoporphyrin IX. The dissociation constant of the interaction was 0.03 nM-1 with no evidence of cooperativity or multiple classes of sites. The average number of sites/cell was approximately 10,300. Reduction of binding following preincubation with trypsin, in conjunction with the above data, suggests that this cell type may display a receptor for heme which is comprised, as least in part, of protein.
Animals↗
Hereditary tyrosinemia. Formation of succinylacetone-amino acid adducts.
Succinylacetone (SA) (4,6-dioxoheptanoic acid) is an abnormal metabolite produced in patients with hereditary tyrosinemia as a consequence of an inherited deficiency of fumaryl acetoacetate hydrolase activity. Patients with this disease are associated with a number of abnormalities, including aminoaciduria, proteinuria, liver failure, commonly hepatoma, and decreased GSH concentration in the liver. In the course of our studies of tyrosinemia, we found that the urine of patients with this disorder contains material(s) that absorbs light at 315 nm. We investigated the nature of the 315 nm material in detail. SA was found to react with amino acids and protein nonenzymatically, to form stable adducts at physiological temperature and pH. All SA adducts with amino acids and/or proteins exhibited an absorption peak at 315 nm. Although all amino acids reacted with SA, the most reactive amino acid was lysine (Lys), followed, in order, by glycine, methionine, phenylalanine, serine, alanine, and glutamine. SA-adducts were unstable at pH below 6, while they were made considerably more stable after reduction with NaBH4, suggesting that SA forms an adduct via Schiff base formation. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis of urines from patients with tyrosinemia revealed the existence of SA-glycine, SA-methionine, SA-tyrosine, and SA-phenylalanine. After digestion of urines with proteinase K, three more HPLC peaks appeared, which all corresponded to SA-Lys adducts. TLC analysis of SA-Lys showed that SA-Lys could form as many as seven different adducts. No SA-adduct peaks were observed in HPLC in urines from normal subjects, patients with other forms of aminoaciduria, or patients with the nephrotic syndrome. In addition to amino acids and proteins, SA reacted with reduced glutathione (GSH) and formed a stable adduct. These findings suggest that SA adduct formation with amino acids, GSH, and proteins is a significant process occurring in tyrosinemia, and may account for certain of the pathologic findings in this hereditary disorder.
Amino Acid Metabolism, Inborn Errors↗
Long-term administration of massive doses of Sn-protoporphyrin in anemic mutant mice (sphha/sphha).
The effects of long-term administration of very large doses of Sn-protoporphyrin on hematological indices, histological changes, plasma bilirubin levels, tissue heme oxygenase activity, and activities of heme biosynthetic enzymes, were examined in genetically anemic mutant mice with hemolytic anemia (sphha/sphha). Long-term weekly treatment with Sn-protoporphyrin (100 mumol/kg body weight for 32 wk) did not alter hematological indices, histological findings, or enzyme activities related to heme biosynthesis, even though it resulted in sustained decreases in microsomal heme oxygenase activity in the liver, kidney, and spleen, and a prolonged decrease in plasma bilirubin concentration. Inhibition of heme oxygenase did not alter the level of cytochrome P-450 in the liver and the kidney. The results indicate that long-term treatment with massive doses of Sn-protoporphyrin suppresses bilirubin formation but does not produce significant histopathological changes or appreciably interfere with heme synthesis, in this strain of genetically anemic mice. These findings provide further support for the idea that suppression of heme degradation to bile pigment by the inhibition of heme oxygenase may prove useful to the prevention of severe hyperbilirubinemia in humans.
5-Aminolevulinate Synthetase↗
Hormonal regulation of heme oxygenase induction in avian hepatocyte culture.
The effects of various hormones were examined on the induction of heme oxygenase in monolayer cultures in chick embryo hepatocytes maintained in a chemically defined medium. Addition of insulin to the cultured cells markedly suppressed the activity of basal as well as Co2+-induced heme oxygenase. Treatment of cells with hydrocortisone also suppressed the basal enzyme activity, while the Co2+-induced enzyme activity was enhanced slightly. In contrast, triiodothyronine addition to the culture caused a slight increase of both uninduced and induced levels of the enzyme. This stimulatory effect of triiodothyronine was enhanced significantly by prolonged incubation of cells (48-96 hr) in the serum-free medium. These findings indicate that heme oxygenase synthesis can be substantially altered by changing the hormonal environment of the hepatocytes. Furthermore, the induction of heme oxygenase by Co2+ was inhibited by glucagon, dibutyryl cAMP and theophylline in a dose-dependent manner, suggesting that the enzyme induction may also be controlled by changes in cAMP levels.
5-Aminolevulinate Synthetase↗
Altered induction response of hepatic cytochrome P-450 to phenobarbital, 3-methylcholanthrene, and beta-naphthoflavone in organotin-treated animals.
The effects of tricyclohexyltin hydroxide on the induction of cytochrome P-450 in liver by phenobarbital, 3-methylcholanthrene and beta-naphthoflavone were studied. A single dose of the organotin (15 mg/kg body wt) prevented the full extent of phenobarbital induction of cytochrome P-450 from occurring; this was the case whether tricyclohexyltin was given 48 hr preceeding a single injection of phenobarbital, or administered simultaneously with the first of three daily doses of the drug. Elevation of hepatic heme oxygenase (EC 1.14.99.3) activity accompanied these changes in cytochrome P-450, but the induction of this enzyme was not affected by phenobarbital treatment. The induction of cytochrome P-448 by 3-methylcholanthrene and beta-naphthoflavone was not affected to the same extent by a single injection of tricyclohexyltin, while heme oxygenase induction was less pronounced when these cytochrome P-448 inducers were given together with the organotin. The changes in cytochrome P-450 content and in its functional activity resulting from the various treatments were further examined by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the microsomal fractions. The electrophoretic profiles illustrate clearly that the apoprotein moieties of the various cytochrome P-450 subspecies are affected to a considerable extent by treatment with tricyclohexyltin hydroxide alone, and staining in these bands was noticeably reduced even when phenobarbital was administered together with the organotin. In contrast, tricyclohexyltin failed to decreased the 3-methylcholanthrene- or beta-naphthoflavone-induced cytochrome P-450 subspecies. These data suggest that significant metabolic interactions can occur from exposure to a combination of environmental chemicals and drugs resulting in an altered metabolism of heme and cytochrome P-450.
5-Aminolevulinate Synthetase↗
Synthetic metalloporphyrins: a class of compounds of pharmacological interest.
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Animals↗
On the genotoxicity of the pesticides Endodan and Kilacar in 6 different test systems.
Two pesticides, the fungicide Endodan (ethylene thiuram monosulphide) and the insecticide-acaricide Kilacar (bis(parachlorophenyl)cyclopropyl methanol), produced or used in the neighbouring countries of Bulgaria and Greece were investigated in a coordinated research programme for their genotoxic effects in a variety of test systems. This included the Ames test, Aspergillus nidulans for mitotic segregation, in vitro human lymphocyte cell cultures for SCE and chromosomal aberrations, in vivo bone marrow cells in hamsters and rats and the dominant lethal test in rats. The genotoxicity of Endodan was found to range from negative to slightly positive in different test systems. At concentrations of 7.5 and 12.0 micrograms/plate together with S9 mix it induced base-pair substitutions in the TA100 strain of Salmonella typhimurium at a rather low level. At a dose of 93 mg/kg b.w. it also caused chromosomal aberrations in acutely treated hamster bone marrow cells. A significant increase of SCE was also found in human lymphocyte cultures at a concentration of 20.0 micrograms/ml. Endodan was found to be negative in A. nidulans for somatic segregation, lymphocyte cultures for chromosomal aberrations and mitotic activity and in rats for dominant lethals and chromosomal aberrations. Kilacar was found to be a weak mutagen in the TA97 strain of S. typhimurium at concentrations of 2.5 and 5.0 micrograms/plate together with S9 mix. At concentrations of 1.0, 1.5 and 2 micrograms/ml Kilacar increased the number of mitotic segregants in A. nidulans by 160%, 220% and 156% respectively over the control. In Syrian hamster bone marrow cells after acute administration at concentrations of 0, 40, 80 and 160 mg/kg, the MI was 5.50, 4.30, 3.10 and 1.30 respectively, and an increase in chromosomal aberrations of about 300% over the control was observed with a concentration of 80 mg/kg. In human lymphocytes no significant changes were observed in either MI or SCE. In the dominant lethal test after chronic treatment of male rats at doses of 5.1, 10.2 and 102.0 mg/kg b.w. no significant mutagenic effect was found although a decrease was shown in the percentage of females with implants mated with treated males in the first week.
Animals↗
The liver excretes large amounts of heme into bile when heme oxygenase is inhibited competitively by Sn-protoporphyrin.
TinIV-protoporphyrin IX (Sn-protoporphyrin) potently inhibits heme degradation to bilirubin in vitro and in vivo, and it completely suppresses neonatal hyperbilirubinemia in experimental animals, including primates. It also reduces plasma bilirubin levels in certain naturally occurring or induced forms of jaundice in animals and man. We have examined in this study the fate of that fraction of heme whose degradation to bile pigment is inhibited in vivo by administration of this heme oxygenase (EC 1.14.99.3) inhibitor. In bile-duct-cannulated rats, infused exogenous heme is rapidly converted to biliary bilirubin; a small amount of the infused heme is excreted into bile as well. Sn-protoporphyrin, administered with the exogenous heme, markedly increased (3- to 4-fold) the amount of heme excreted into bile and greatly diminished biliary output of bilirubin. The increase in biliary heme output exceeded the decrease in bilirubin excretion elicited by the inhibitor metalloporphyrin. In the same experimental model, Sn-protoporphyrin substantially decreased the conversion of heme, derived from heat-damaged erythrocytes, to biliary bilirubin. This decrease in biliary bilirubin output was accounted for entirely by a prompt and marked increase in biliary excretion of unmetabolized heme. The enhanced biliary excretion of unmetabolized heme following administration of Sn-protoporphyrin is a newly defined and biologically important response associated with use of this synthetic heme analogue. The features of the action of this compound in vivo--suppression of formation of the potentially neurotoxic metabolite, bilirubin; enhancement of disposal of the untransformed substrate (heme) of the enzyme that it inhibits; and its own elimination without metabolic alteration--define some of the characteristics of a therapeutically useful chemical.
Animals↗
Sn-protoporphyrin rapidly and markedly enhances the heme saturation of hepatic tryptophan pyrrolase. Evidence that this synthetic metalloporphyrin increases the functional content of heme in the liver.
Sn-protoporphyrin is a potent competitive inhibitor of heme oxygenase, the rate-limiting enzyme in heme degradation to bile pigment, and has been successfully utilized to suppress hyperbilirubinemia in a variety of experimental and naturally occurring forms of jaundice in animals and man. The compound is presumed to act in vivo primarily by inhibiting heme oxidation; thus it would be reasonable to expect that preservation of some functional moiety of cellular heme from degradation by heme oxygenase would occur after Sn-protoporphyrin administration. We have examined this question in liver by studying the heme saturation of tryptophan pyrrolase, the heme-dependent enzyme which controls the first and rate-limiting step in the catabolism of L-tryptophan. Sn-protoporphyrin, in doses (10 mumol/kg body wt) which entirely suppress neonatal hyperbilirubinemia in the experimental animal, leads to a very rapid (approximately 30-60 min) increase in the heme saturation of tryptophan pyrrolase from normal levels of approximately 50-60% to nearly 100%. The effect peaks at 1-2 h and lasts for at least 12 h. Sn-protoporphyrin is also able to block the rapid and marked decline in heme saturation of tryptophan pyrrolase elicited by inorganic cobalt, a potent inducer of heme oxygenase in liver. These findings establish clearly that after the administration of Sn-protoporphyrin in the whole animal, a functionally active heme pool, the one related to tryptophan pyrrolase, is rapidly increased in liver, confirming that the metalloporphyrin inhibits the degradation of endogenous heme by heme oxygenase.
Animals↗
Studies on the mechanism of Sn-protoporphyrin suppression of hyperbilirubinemia. Inhibition of heme oxidation and bilirubin production.
The synthetic heme analogue Sn-protoporphyrin is a potent competitive inhibitor of heme oxygenase, the rate-limiting enzyme in heme degradation to bile pigment, and can entirely suppress hyperbilirubinemia in neonatal animals and significantly reduce plasma bilirubin levels in a variety of circumstances in experimental animals and man. To further explore the mechanism by which this metalloporphyrin reduces bilirubin levels in vivo, we have examined its effects on bilirubin production in bile duct-cannulated rats, in which bilirubin derived from heme catabolism is known to be rapidly excreted in bile. The administration of Sn-protoporphyrin (10-50 mumol/kg body weight) was followed by prompt (within approximately 1 h) and sustained (up to at least 18 h) decreases in bilirubin output, to levels 25-30 percent below the levels of bilirubin output in control bile fistula animals. The metalloporphyrin had no effect on bile flow or the biliary output of bile acids. Infusions of heme, which is taken up primarily in hepatocytes, or of heat-damaged erythrocytes, which are taken up in reticuloendothelial cells, resulted in marked increases in bilirubin output in bile in control animals; these increases were completely prevented or substantially diminished by Sn-protoporphyrin administration. By contrast, the metalloporphyrin did not alter the high levels of bilirubin in plasma and bile that were achieved in separate experiments by the constant (16 h) infusion of unconjugated bilirubin to bile duct-cannulated rats. Thus, Sn-protoporphyrin exerts no major effects on the metabolic disposition of preformed bilirubin. Heme oxygenase activities were markedly decreased in microsomal preparations from liver, spleen, and kidneys in these experiments, to a degree comparable to the decreases we have observed in the intact rat. We also demonstrated that a substantial proportion (19-35%) of a dose of Sn-protoporphyrin is promptly excreted in bile and that the time course of biliary excretion of this compound more closely reflects plasma concentrations of the metalloporphyrin, which decline rapidly, rather than concentrations in liver, which are considerably more persistent. These results indicate that Sn-protoporphyrin substantially reduces the in vivo production of bilirubin from the degradation of endogenous as well as exogenous heme in the rat. Moreover, this inhibitory effect of the synthetic metalloporphyrin on bilirubin production occurs in both hepatocytes and reticuloendothelial cells, which are the major tissue sites for bilirubin formation. In other studies, we have established that heme oxygenase blockade by Sn-protoporphyrin leads to a marked and rapid excretion of heme into bile presumably because the synthetic metabolism to bile pigment and making it available for excretion via the biliary system in to the gut, These studies strongly suggest that Sn-protoporphyrin diminishes hyperbilirubinemia in animals and man by inhibiting the production of the bile pigment in vivo, and that its principal mode of action involves a potent and sustained competitive inhibition of heme oxygenase.
Animals↗
Sn-protoporphyrin suppresses chemically induced experimental hepatic porphyria. Potential clinical implications.
The ability of Sn(tin)-protoporphyrin to inhibit the induction of hepatic delta-aminolevulinate (ALA) synthase by allylisopropyl acetamide (AIA) was examined in the adult rat. Doses of Sn-protoporphyrin of 1, 10, and 50 mumol/kg body wt resulted in decreases in AIA-induced hepatic ALA-synthase activity of 32, 52, and 60%, respectively, compared with rats treated with AIA alone; inhibition of ALA-synthase was not a direct effect of Sn-protoporphyrin. This inhibition of the enzyme activity in liver was reflected in concurrent decreases in urinary excretion of ALA and porphobilinogen (PBG). The increased urinary excretion of ALA and PBG observed following AIA treatment was reduced by the lowest dose of Sn-protoporphyrin (1 mumol/kg body wt) and abolished completely by the higher doses of the metalloporphyrin (10 and 50 mumol/kg body wt). These findings in a rat model of hepatic porphyria suggest that Sn-protoporphyrin may be useful in the treatment of acute exacerbations of "inducible" hepatic porphyrias in man, especially since Sn-protoporphyrin, unlike hematin which is presently used for this purpose, is neither degraded by nor induces the activity of heme oxygenase.
5-Aminolevulinate Synthetase↗
Nutrient regulation of chemical metabolism in humans.
Dietary protein, carbohydrate, cruciferous vegetables, and charcoal-broiled beef can markedly alter the patterns of chemical biotransformations in normal subjects. The specific nutritional factors capable of altering the metabolism of drugs and the range of chemicals, including hormones, whose metabolism can be altered by diet in humans merit further study because they have the potential to influence the biological impact of these substances in humans.
Animals↗
Interindividual differences in the metabolism of xenobiotics.
Substantial interindividual differences occur for the metabolism of drugs, carcinogens, and steroid hormones, and these person-to-person differences are caused by genetic and environmental factors. It is likely that interindividual differences in the metabolism of xenobiotics and steroid hormones play a role in explaining interindividual differences in the initiation and progression of some human cancers. Factors that influence the metabolism and action of xenobiotics in human beings include age, disease states, hormonal changes in the body, ingestion of medicinal agents, exposure to environmental chemicals, and changes in life style, including factors such as cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, and diet. Some individuals have a much larger response to environmental perturbations than do other individuals, and further research is needed to elucidate the reasons for differences in the responsiveness of people to modulators of chemical biotransformations. Immigration to a new country can represent a substantial change in a person's diet, life style, and environment, and these changes may alter the metabolism of xenobiotics and endogenous hormones that play a role in the carcinogenic response.
Aflatoxin B1↗
Prevention of cyclical attacks of acute intermittent porphyria with a long-acting agonist of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone.
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Acute Disease↗
Fluorometric measurement of tin-protoporphyrin in biological samples.
Sn-protoporphyrin is a potent competitive inhibitor of heme oxygenase, can suppress neonatal and other forms of hyperbilirubinemia in laboratory animals, and represents a potential new approach to the treatment of neonatal jaundice in humans. In order to study the disposition of Sn-protoporphyrin in vivo we have developed a sensitive fluorometric method for the quantitation of this metalloporphyrin in biological samples. The method is sensitive to concentrations as low as 0.01 nmol/ml, and is specific for Sn-protoporphyrin even in the presence of other porphyrins such as protoporphyrin.
Animals↗
The potent induction of intestinal heme oxygenase by the organotin compound, bis(tri-n-butyltin)oxide.
Oral administration of bis(tri-n-butyltin)oxide, an important organotin biocidal agent, produces a substantial elevation in heme oxygenase activity when measured at 16 hours in rat small intestine. An apparent Km for hemin of 100 microM is the same in both control and the organotin-induced 9,000 X g supernatant preparations. Concomitant with elevated heme oxygenase activity there occurs a substantial reduction in benzo(a)pyrene hydroxylase activity (approximately 20% of controls) and cytochrome P-450 concentration (approximately 60% of controls). These perturbations of heme metabolism in intestinal epithelium of the rat define an important new toxicological effect of organotins and raise the possibility that concurrent oral ingestion of environmental pollutants can directly affect the cytochrome P-450-dependent metabolism of other chemicals in the intestine.
Administration, Oral↗
Effect of brussels sprouts and cabbage on drug conjugation.
Ten healthy subjects were fed three diets for 10 days each: a control diet, a cabbage and brussels sprouts--containing diet, and the control diet a second time. Oxazepam was taken on day 7 and acetaminophen on day 10 of each dietary regimen. The test diet stimulated the metabolism of acetaminophen, at least in part by enhanced glucuronidation, as evidenced by a 16% decrease in mean plasma AUC, a 17% increase in mean metabolic clearance rate, an increased ratio of acetaminophen glucuronide to acetaminophen in plasma from 1 to 11 hr after drug and an 8% increase in mean 24-hr urinary recovery of acetaminophen glucuronide, which returned toward control when the subjects were fed the control diet a second time. There were no comparable changes in the metabolism of acetaminophen to acetaminophen sulfate. When the subjects ate the test diet, 24-hr urinary recovery of the cysteine conjugate and of 3-methoxyacetaminophen sulfate, end-products of minor oxidative pathways, the former involving a toxic intermediate, decreased 13% and 22%. Cabbage and brussels sprouts induced a 17% decrease in mean plasma AUC and a 19% increase in mean metabolic clearance rate for oxazepam, but there was no change in mean plasma t1/2 for this drug, nor was there a change in ratio in plasma of oxazepam glucuronide to oxazepam.
Acetaminophen↗