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Biomedical subjects

M Ahotupa

Publications and source records attributed to M Ahotupa.

81 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1978

Effect of polybrominated biphenyls on drug metabolizing enzymes in different tissues of C57 mice.

Polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) are structurally very close to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) which are known to be potent inducers of xenobiotic biotransformation reactions. We have studied the effects of 2 industrial PBB-mixtures, "hexabromobiphenyl" (HBB) and "octabromobiphenyl" (OBB), on enzymes catalyzing drug hydroxylation, epoxide hydration, and conjugation reactions in different tissues of C57 mice. The enzyme activities were measured 10 days after a single i.p. injection of PBBs (75 mg/kg). HBB enhanced the activities of hepatic AHH (1.9-fold), ethoxycoumarin deethylase (5.7-fold), epoxide hydratase (1.5-fold), glutathione S-transferase (1.7-fold) and UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (1.5-fold). In the kidney HBB enhanced the activity of UDP-blucuronosyltransferase 1.5-fold. OBB caused in increase in the activities of liver AHH (1.5-fold), ethoxycoumarin deethylase (2.4-fold) and glutathione S-transferase (1.4-fold). A slight increase was also seen in the activity of UDP-glucuronosyltransferase in digitoninactivated liver microsomes of OBB-treated mice. In the kidney OBB caused a slight but statistically significant decrease in glutathione S-transferase activity. Intraperitoneally injected bromobiphenyls had no effects on these drug metabolizing enzymes in the lung of C57 mice. These results were similar to the effects caused by a mixture of PCBs.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The effects of the insecticide 2,2,2-trichloro-1-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)ethyl acetate on drug metabolism in the rat.

The effects of 2,2,2-trichloro-1-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)ethyl acetate (Penfenate) on hepatic, renal and small intestinal drug-metabolizing enzyme activities, hepatic reduced glutathione content and urinary excretion of thioethers were studied in the rat. A single i.p. dose of Penfenate (500 mg/kg) decreased the body weight of the animals in 1-3 days, increased hepatic protein content at 2 days and increased urinary thioether excretion 12-24 h after the treatment. In liver a single i.p. dose (500 mg/kg) enhanced cytochrome P-450 content 1.7-fold, ethoxycoumarin O-deethylase activity 2.5-fold, 2,5-diphenyloxazole hydroxylase activity 1.6-fold, epoxide hydrolase activity 2.5-fold, glutathione S-transferase activity 1.4-fold and UDPglucuronosyltransferase (4-methylumbelliferone) activity 2.3-fold in 3 days. No effects could be seen 2 weeks after the treatment. Five consecutive daily doses (500 mg/kg) enhanced the drug metabolizing enzyme activities and caused a 50% mortality. A dose of 100 mg/kg had only minor effects on hepatic drug metabolizing enzyme activities. Renal and intestinal enzyme activities were only slightly affected by the administration of Penfenate. These data indicate that quite large doses of Penfenate are needed to bring about any significant effects and these effects are restricted mainly to the liver. However, the ability of Penfenate to change drug metabolizing enzyme activities must be considered when evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of this insecticide as a substitute for DDT.

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PubMedDate not supplied

Acute prolonged exercise reduces moderately oxidized LDL in healthy men.

We studied the effects of a 2-day walk exercise (6 h+6 h) on the serum concentration of circulating moderately oxidized LDL (LDL baseline conjugated dienes), lipids (total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and triglyceride), antioxidants (alpha-tocopherol, gamma-tocopherol, beta-carotene, and ubiquinol-10), and antioxidant potential in serum (S-TRAP) and LDL (LDL-TRAP) in healthy well-trained men. The exercise was performed twice with an interval of 14 days. While 6 h walking the subjects drank 6 cl . kg (-1) water which contained either carbohydrate (CHO trial) or placebo (PLA trial). During the 2-day exercise the level of oxidized LDL decreased by 25 % (p=0.001) in the PLA trial. At the same time serum gamma-tocopherol decreased by 20 % (p=0.049), while the other measured antioxidants remained unchanged and the serum antioxidant potential increased by 22 % (p=0.018). Serum total cholesterol decreased by 3 % (p=0.017), serum triglycerides by 22 % (p=0.001), and LDL-cholesterol by 14 % (p=0.045). HDL cholesterol increased by 9 % (p=0.001). The results in the carbohydrate trial were similar to the ones in the PLA trial. The findings suggest that exercise of long duration but of low, non-exhaustive intensity decreases the concentration of circulating oxidized LDL simultaneously with an increase in serum antioxidant potential in healthy trained men. Carbohydrate ingestion during the exercise does not have any further effect on these changes.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Superoxide dismutase activity along rat seminiferous epithelial wave: effects of ethane dimethanesulphonate and 3.0 Gy of X-irradiation.

Changes in generation of reactive oxygen species and antioxidant enzyme activities are associated with differentiation processes. The authors have studied the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in sequentially cut stage-defined segments of rat seminiferous tubules. Great variation was observed in SOD activity along the seminiferous epithelial wave. At its highest, four-fold increases were observed in individual tubules. However, these changes showed no clear correlation to the stages of the cycle. To determine the effect of testosterone withdrawal, rats treated with ethane dimethanesulphonate (EDS) were studied. This treatment had no effect on the pattern of SOD activity along the seminiferous epithelial wave. Testes of other rats were exposed to local 3.0 Gy X-irradiation to cause selective loss of germ-cell populations. SOD activity in the seminiferous epithelium was not affected at 30 min or 7 d after X-irradiation. On day 31 post-irradiation, SOD activity increased at stages XIV-VI, peaking at stage III (P < 0.01 for comparison of stages XIV-VI with the other stages). The data presented here suggest that the activity of SOD in seminiferous epithelium is regulated over a wide range during spermatogenesis. Testosterone plays no major role in the control of seminiferous tubule SOD activity. The loss of spermatocytes and early spermatids by day 31 after X-irradiation revealed a stage-specific increase in SOD activity, which may be associated with the differentiation of elongated spermatids.

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PubMedDate not supplied

Total phenolics concentration and antioxidant potential of extracts of medicinal plants of Pakistan.

Thirty-seven plant organs, traditionally used as drugs, collected in Pakistan, were extracted with 70% acetone and analyzed for their total phenolics concentration and antioxidant potential. Seven extracts showed more than 85% inhibition of lipid peroxidation in vitro as compared with blank. Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) (IC50 = 233.6 microg/l +/- 28.3) was the strongest antioxidant in our test system. The IC50 results indicate that the extracts of Nymphaea lotus L. flowers, Acacia nilotica (Linn.) Delile beans, Terminalia belerica Roxb. fruits, and Terminalia chebula Retz. (fruits, brown) were stronger antioxidants than alpha-tocopherol, while Terminalia chebula Retz. (fruit coat), Terminalia chebula Retz. (fruits, black) and Ricinus communis L. leaves were weaker antioxidant extracts than alpha-tocopherol and BHT. Total phenolics concentration, expressed as gallic acid equivalents, showed close correlation with the antioxidant activity. High performance liquid chromatographic analysis with diode array detection at 280 nm, of the seven extracts indicated the presence of hydroxybenzoic acid derivatives, hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives, flavonol aglycones and their glycosides as main phenolics compounds. This information, based on quick screening methods, enables us to proceed towards more detailed chemical and pharmacological understanding of these plant materials.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Antioxidant enzyme activity in the maturing rat testis.

Developmental profiles of the activity of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), glutathione transferase (GSH-Tr), and hexose monophosphate shunt (HMS) were measured in the rat testis and liver. The level of SOD in the testis was high at the age of 6 to 10 days, after which it dropped to approximately one third of that level by 20 days of age, and remained there up to 8 months of age. In the liver, SOD activity steadily increased from the neonatal to adult stage of life, reaching the same level as detected in the testis. The testicular activity of catalase was only 2% to 7% of that found in liver at all ages. It increased in both organs up to 6 weeks of age, whereafter the hepatic activity gradually decreased and no further changes were seen in the testis. The GSH-Px activity was low in the testis and declined slightly with age, whereas activity in the liver increased four-fold between birth and adulthood. The activity of GSH-Tr was similar in both organs studied: it increased after birth, showing a maximum in the liver at 1.5 months (ten-fold increase) and in the testis at 5 months of age (four-fold increase). The HMS activity was two to three times higher in the liver than in the testis, and decreased slightly with age in both organs. Thus, the basal levels and developmental profiles of antioxidant enzymes in the testis differ greatly from those in the liver.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

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PubMedDate not supplied

Lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzyme activities in the rat testis after cigarette smoke inhalation or administration of polychlorinated biphenyls or polychlorinated naphthalenes.

Lipid peroxidation products and antioxidant enzyme activities were studied in the rat testis following exposures to cigarette smoke, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), or polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs). Three hours after a single 1-hour period of smoke inhalation, the levels of fluorescent chromolipids and thiobarbituric acid-reactive species (TBARS) were markedly increased in the testis (+49%, P < 0.01, and +43%, P < 0.05, respectively). Twelve hours after daily smoking for 1 hour, for 1, 5, or 10 days, such an increase was not found. Activities of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), glutathione transferase (GSH-Tr), or hexose monophosphate shunt (HMS) were not affected immediately, 3 hours, or 12 hours after a single smoking session. Twelve hours after smoking for 5 days, the activity of catalase was decreased (-16%, P < 0.05). Smoking exposures had no consistent effects on serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), or testosterone concentrations. Single i.p. injections of PCB or PCN mixtures resulted in decreases in testicular SOD activity 1 day after the exposures (-14%, P < 0.05, and -51%, P < 0.01, respectively). Catalase activity also decreased after both exposures (-30 to -42%, P < 0.05, at days 1-7 after PCB exposure, and -37 to -43%, P < 0.05, at days 3-7 after PCN exposure). Ninety days after the PCN exposure, activities of GSH-Px and GSH-Tr were decreased in the testis (-20%, P < 0.05, and -26%, P < 0.05, respectively).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

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PubMedDate not supplied

Comparison of effects of 0.5 and 3.0 Gy X-irradiation on lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzyme function in rat testis and liver.

The prooxidant effect of X-irradiation on rat testis and liver tissue was studied with doses of 0.5 and 3.0 Gy; the latter dose kills the proliferating spermatogonia and causes a maturation-depletion process in the germ cells. The level of lipid peroxidation, measured by the formation of diene conjugates and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) and the activities of the antioxidant enzymes were determined 0.5 hours, 1 day, 7 days, and 31 days after the exposure. In the liver, increased levels of diene conjugation (+36%, P < 0.05) in the group of 3.0 Gy at 0.5 hours indicated increased lipid peroxidation. At the same time, TBARS were increased (+25%, P < 0.05) in the group of 0.5 Gy, but not in the 3.0-Gy group. In the testis, diene conjugation was not determined at 0.5 hours postirradiation, and at day 1 it was at the control level. The level of TBARS in the testis was below control (-11%, P < 0.01) in the 3.0-Gy group at day 1. At day 31 after 3.0 Gy in the testis, an increase in the amount of conjugated dienes (+24%, P < 0.01) was observed in parallel with a decreased level of TBARS (-15%, P < 0.01). The activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) was decreased in the testis at 0.5 hours postirradiation (-28%, P < 0.05, and -29%, P < 0.05, in the groups of 0.5 and 3.0 Gy), whereafter it returned to normal by day 7. In the liver, such inactivation of SOD was not observed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

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