Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Masayasu Inoue.
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are the major factors that induce oxidative modification of DNA and gene mutation. ROS can elicit oxidative stress and affect a wide variety of physiological and pathological processes including embryonal development, maturation and aging.
Although para-nonylphenol (NP) is known as an endocrine disruptor, the immunologic effect of NP has been poorly analyzed. We found that NP from 5 to 50 microM caused a dose-dependent stimulatory effect on the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in human blood neutrophils, which was measured by using a chemiluminescence reagent, luminol. Furthermore, ROS-scavenging enzymes such as catalase and superoxide dismutase and antioxidative agents alpha-tocopherol and beta-carotene showed strong preventive effects on NP-induced ROS generation. To analyze the biochemical mechanism of NP-induced ROS generation in human neutrophils, we investigated the effects of different types of metabolic inhibitor for the activation pathways of ROS generation in the cells. Reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH)-dependent oxidase inhibitor, diphenyl iodonium chloride and the myeloperoxidase inhibitor sodium azide (NaN3) showed remarkable inhibitory effects on ROS generation induced by NP, but an inhibitor against mitochondrial respiratory function, potassium cyanide (KCN), did not exhibit significant effect. Furthermore, the phosphatidylinositol-3 (PI3) kinase inhibitor wortmannin and the tyrosine kinase inhibitor protein phosphorylation inhibitor 1 (PP1) caused strong suppression against NP-induced ROS generation. The selective protein kinase C inhibitor Ro-32-0432, p38 MAP kinase inhibitor SB 203580, and ERK MAP kinase inhibitor PD 98059 also showed significant suppressive effects on NP-induced ROS generation. These results suggest that NP causes an enhancing effect on ROS generation in human blood neutrophils through the activation of signal transduction pathways associated with the respiratory burst function in these cells. Additionally, to examine in vivo effects of NP, we also analyzed the effects of NP itself and the synergistic effects of NP and a typical inflammatory agent, opsonized zymosan, on human whole blood including neutrophils.
We previously showed that Ca2+-induced cyclosporin A-sensitive membrane permeability transition (MPT) of mitochondria occurred with concomitant generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and release of cytochrome c (Free Rad. Res.38, 29-35, 2004). To elucidate the role of alpha-tocopherol in MPT, we investigated the effect of alpha-tocopherol on mitochondrial ROS generation, swelling and cytochrome c release induced by Ca2+ or hydroxyl radicals. Biochemical analysis revealed that alpha-tocopherol suppressed Ca2+-induced ROS generation and oxidation of critical thiol groups of mitochondrial adenine nucleotide translocase (ANT) but not swelling and cytochrome c release. Hydroxyl radicals also induced cyclosporin A-sensitive MPT of mitochondria. alpha-Tocopherol suppressed the hydroxyl radical-induced lipid peroxidation, swelling and cytochrome c release from mitochondria. These results indicate that alpha-tocopherol inhibits ROS generation, ANT oxidation, lipid peroxidation and the opening of MPT, thereby playing important roles in the prevention of oxidative cell death.
BACKGROUND: The risk of skin cancer is lower in females than in males, and photoimmunosuppression caused by ultraviolet (UV) radiation is thought to be involved in the progression of skin cancer. OBJECTIVES. To determine the effect of 17beta-estradiol on immunosuppression and contact hypersensitivity (CHS) caused by ultraviolet B (UVB) irradiation. METHODS: Systemic immunosuppression was induced in C57BL mice that had been sensitized with 0.5% fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) through the skin by a single exposure to UVB (10 kJ/m2). The CHS response was assessed after applying FITC to mice treated intraperitoneally with 17beta-estradiol, tamoxifen (17beta-estradiol antagonist), or antiestradiol antibody. Levels of serum interleukin-10 (IL-10) were measured in treated mice and control mice using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). To assess the effect of 17beta-estradiol on keratinocytes, Pam-212 cells were exposed in vitro to UVB radiation and treated for 24 h with 17beta-estradiol. The IL-10 content of the supernatant was measured using an ELISA. RESULTS: The CHS response in UVB-irradiated mice was significantly suppressed in comparison to that in nonirradiated mice. Consecutive intraperitoneal injections of 17beta-estradiol significantly reduced UVB-induced suppression of the CHS response in male mice, whereas injection of tamoxifen or antiestradiol antibody significantly promoted UVB-induced suppression in female mice. Treatment with 17beta-estradiol decreased the serum IL-10 levels in CHS-suppressed male mice after UVB irradiation, but treatment with tamoxifen or antiestradiol antibody increased the serum IL-10 levels in female mice. Treatment with 17beta-estradiol reduced IL-10 production by UVB-irradiated Pam-212 cells in a dose-dependent manner. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that 17beta-estradiol prevents UVB-induced suppression of the CHS response caused by immunosuppressive cytokines produced by keratinocytes.
The aim of the present work is to elucidate the mechanism by which the respiration of Helicobacter pylori but not of Escherichia coli shows a strong resistance to nitric oxide (NO). Nitric oxide strongly but reversibly inhibited the oxygen consumption by sonicated membranes from H. pylori and Triton X-100-treated cells. Although the sensitivity of the H. pylori respiration to cyanide was low, it also increased after the treatment with Triton X-100. Kinetic analyses revealed that NO was rapidly degraded by E. coli and the Triton X-100-treated H. pylori, but not by the intact H. pylori. Thus, the low sensitivity to NO might reflect the low affinity of the cytochrome c oxidase for this radical within the membrane/lipid bilayers of H. pylori. Such properties of the oxidase in H. pylori membranes may, at least in part, underlie the mechanism by which this bacterium thrives in NO-enriched gastric juice.
Although nitric oxide (NO) plays important roles in pathogenesis of various liver diseases, the role of NO in the in vivo mechanism of Fas-mediated fulminant hepatitis is not known well. The effect of anti-Fas antibody (Jo2) on the survival, liver function, and histology was analyzed in wild-type (WT) and inducible NO synthase (iNOS)-deficient (iNOS(-/-)) mice. Upon intravenous injection of a lethal dose of Jo2, WT mice died on fulminant hepatitis within 12h. Under identical conditions, however, iNOS(-/-) mice showed strong resistance to Jo2 and survived without revealing liver injury. In conclusion, these observations suggest that regulation of NO metabolism may have therapeutic potential in the treatment of patients with fulminant hepatitis.
Regression of the tadpole tail through muscule cell apoptosis is one of the most spectacular events in amphibian metamorphosis. Accumulated evidence has shown that mitochondrial membrane permeability transition (MPT) plays a crucial role in apoptosis. Previously we reported that cyclosporin A (CsA) suppressed 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine (T(3))-induced mitochondrial swelling, which was coupled with cytochrome c (Cyt.c) release through MPT [Comp. Biochem. Phys. 130 (2001) 411-418]. To further clarify the mechanism of tadpole metamorphosis, the present study investigates the effect of CsA on T(3) induced tadpole tail shortening. A low concentration of T(3) (5 x 10(-8) M) was found to induce a shortening of stage X Rana rugosa tadpole tails, accompanied by an increase in caspase-3- and -9 like protease activity, as well as an increase in DNA-fragmentation and ladder formation, while CsA was seen to suppress the effects of T(3). The stage X tadpole tail was found to express Bax mRNA and this expression was not affected by T(3) treatment. CsA, on the other hand, proved to have a slightly supressive effection on Bax expression. 20 microM T(3) as well as 50 microM Ca(2+) induced swelling in mitochondria isolated from the liver of R. rugosa resulting in the release of apoptosis related substances, and the released fraction activated cytosolic caspase-3 and -9 in the presence of dATP. This result indicated that Cyt.c might be released from mitochondria by treatment with T(3) through both direct and indirect action of T(3). From these results and other data it was concluded that mitochondrial MPT plays an important role in T(3)-induced apoptosis in the tadpole tail, resulting in tail shortening, and CsA was seen to suppress the effects of T(3).
The relationship between the multicentric occurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the frequency of mutation of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in the noncancerous hepatic tissue in patients infected with hepatitis C virus was investigated. Of the 48 patients, multicentric occurrence of HCC was found in ten of 33 patients with three or more mutations in the mtDNA, whereas no patients had multicentric HCCs in 15 patients with two or fewer mutations in the mtDNA (P=0.0201). A high rate of mtDNA mutation in noncancerous hepatic tissue may be related to multicentric hepatocarcinogenesis and the hypercarcinogenic state in such patients.
Ultraviolet B radiation increases DOPA-positive melanocytes in the skin specifically at the site of exposure. We found unexpectedly that ultraviolet B irradiation of the eye increased the concentration of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone in plasma and systemically stimulated epidermal melanocytes in mice. To test the possible involvement of hypothalamopituitary proopiomelanocortin system in the systemic activation of skin melanocytes, ultraviolet B was also irradiated to the eye after hypophysectomy. Hypophysectomy strongly inhibited the ultraviolet B-induced stimulation of melanocytes. To elucidate the pathway by which ultraviolet B irradiation of the eye activated the hypothalamopituitary system, we examined the effect of bilateral ciliary ganglionectomy and denervation of the optic nerves on the ultraviolet B-induced melanocyte stimulation. Ciliary ganglionectomy, but not optic nerve denervation, strongly inhibited melanocyte stimulation by localized irradiation of the eye. Furthermore, melanocyte stimulation by localized ultraviolet B irradiation of the eye was not observed in mice that lack the inducible type of nitric oxide synthase. These results clearly indicate that a signal evoked by ultraviolet B irradiation of the eye is transmitted in a nitric oxide-dependent manner through the ciliary ganglia involving the first branch of the trigeminal nerve to the hypothalamopituitary proopiomelanocortin system, resulting in upregulation of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone secretion and consequent stimulation of melanocytes in the skin. The novel network involving the trigeminal nerve and nitric oxide-dependent signaling pathway might play important parts in the activation of proopiomelanocortin-dependent biologic reactions, such as alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone-induced stimulation of melanocytes in the skin, in ultraviolet B-enriched environments.
Dietary nitrate is reduced to nitrite by some oral bacteria and the resulting nitrite is converted to nitric oxide (NO) in acidic gastric juice. The aim of this study is to elucidate the pathophysiological role of dietary nitrate in the stomach. Intragastric administration of nitrate rapidly increased nitrate and NO in plasma and the gastric headspace, respectively. Water-immersion-restraint stress (WIRS) increased myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity in gastric mucosa and induced hemorrhagic erosions by a nitrate-inhibitable mechanism. In animals that had received either cardiac ligation or oral treatment with povidone-iodine, a potent bactericidal agent, administration of nitrate failed to increase gastric levels of NO and to inhibit WIRS-induced mucosal injury. WIRS decreased gastric mucosal blood flow by a mechanism which was inhibited by administration of nitrate. These data suggested that the enterosalivary cycle of nitrate and related metabolites consisted of gastrointestinal absorption and salivary secretion of nitrate, its conversion to nitrite by oral bacteria and then to NO in the stomach might play important roles in the protection of gastric mucosa from hazardous stress.
Vancomycin hydrochloride (VCM), a glycopeptide antibiotic, has a broad spectrum against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). As it is known to induce renal dysfunction, the dose and the duration of its administration are limited. Moreover, the mechanism of VCM-induced renal dysfunction remains to be unclear. To evaluate the involvement of free radical on VCM-induced renal dysfunction, we carried out analysis with a hexamethylenediamine-conjugated superoxide dismutase (AH-SOD) which rapidly accumulates in renal proximal tubule cells and inhibits oxidative injury of the kidney. Male Wistar rats (weighing 200-210 g) were intraperitonealy administered with 200 mg/kg of VCM twice a day for 7 days. AH-SOD 5 mg/kg/day was subcutaneously injected 5 min before every VCM injection. VCM induced renal injury dose-dependently. Biochemical analyses revealed that plasma levels of blood urea nitrogen and creatinine significantly increased in the VCM-treated group by an AH-SOD-inhibitable mechanism. VCM simultaneously elicited an increase of 8-OHdG levels and chemiluminescence intensity of free radical generation in the kidney. Histological examination revealed that VCM also elicited a marked destruction of glomeruli and necrosis of proximal tubules. AH-SOD inhibited these phenomena in the kidney. These results suggested that oxidative stress might underlie the pathogenesis of VCM-induced nephrotoxicity and targeting SOD and/or related antioxidants to renal proximal tubules might permit the administration of higher doses of VCM sufficient for eradication of MRSA without causing renal injury.
Although nitric oxide (NO) was shown not only to exert biological activities through activation of soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC), but also to cause oxidative stress, mechanisms for switching these pathways are unknown. This study aimed to examine aberrant utilization of NO under disease conditions such as diabetes mellitus. Diabetes was induced in male Wistar rats by injecting streptozotocin (STZ; 50 mg/kg body weight, i.p.). Retina was perfusion-fixed for immunohistochemistry to detect the gas-mediated activation of sGC by anti-sGC antibodies that are function-sensitive [monoclonal antibody (MoAb) 3221] and -insensitive (MoAb28131). Regional lipid peroxidation was also examined by an anti-acrolein MoAb. At 6 weeks after STZ injection, inducible NO synthase induction became evident, coinciding with the overproduction of nitrotyrosine, followed by that of acrolein. Despite such NO overproduction, sGC did not exhibit any notable activation. When STZ-treated animals were posttreated with a derivative of superoxide dismutase that stays in circulation without undergoing renal ultrafiltration, immunoreactivities to MoAb3221 but not to MoAb28131 increased markedly in diabetic retina, suggesting that superoxide cancels free NO for local sGC activation. These results provide evidence of aberrant utilization of NO and suggest that superoxide plays a role in interfering with NO-mediated sGC activation for phototransducing events in this neural tissue.
Although oxygen is required for the energy metabolism in aerobic organisms, it generates reactive oxygen and nitrogen species that impair a wide variety of biological molecules, including lipids, proteins, and DNA, thereby causing various diseases. Because mitochondria are the major site of free radical generation, they are highly enriched with enzymes, such as Mn-type superoxide dismutase in matrix, and antioxidants including GSH on both sides of inner membranes, thus minimizing oxidative stress in and around this organelle. We recently showed that a cross talk of nitric oxide and oxygen radicals regulates the circulation, energy metabolism, reproduction, and remodeling of cells during embryonic development, and functions as a major defense system against pathogens. The present work shows that Cu/Zn-type superoxide dismutase, which has been postulated for a long time to be a cytosolic enzyme, also localizes bound to inner membranes of mitochondria, thereby minimizing oxidative stress in and around this organelle, while mitochondrial association decreases markedly with the variant types of the enzyme found in patients with familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. We also report that a cross talk of nitric oxide, superoxide, and molecular oxygen cooperatively regulates the fates of pathogens and their hosts and that oxidative stress in and around mitochondria also determines cell death in the development of animals and tissue injury caused by anticancer agents by some carnitine-inhibitable mechanism.
We previously reported that fluvastatin, a potent 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitor, a strong lipid lowering drug, exerted an anti-atherosclerotic effect at doses insufficient to lower serum lipids in cholesterol fed rabbits. The evidence demonstrated that the superoxide anions from nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase plays a critical role in several steps in the development of atherosclerosis. This study was designed to determine the effects of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors on the production of the superoxide anions of NADPH oxidase in isolated rat peritoneal neutrophils. Fluvastatin (1-10 microM) decreased phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA, 10 nM)-dependent reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in a concentration-dependent manner. It also (10 microM) decreased PMA-dependent O(2) consumption of the rat neutrophils. These effects were reversed by the addition of mevalonate, a metabolite in the HMG-CoA reductase pathway. Treatment with pravastatin did not show any significant changes. Fluvastatin (10 microM) decreased ROS, such as hydroxyl radicals and superoxide anions generated by the Fenton reaction, and by the xanthine-xanthine oxidase system. Rats were treated with either fluvastatin (5 mg/kg per day, p.o.) or pravastatin (5 mg/kg per day, p.o.) for 1 week. Treatment with fluvastatin decreased the PMA-dependent ROS generation. The fluvastatin induced effect on the PMA-dependent ROS generation was reversed by the combined administration with 40 mg/kg mevalonate per day. The antioxidative effect of fluvastatin was thought to have caused not only the scavenging action of the radicals but also to have inhibited ROS generation by inhibiting the NADPH oxidase activity. This antioxidative potential of fluvastatin via the inhibition of NADPH oxidase activity may be profitable in preventing atherosclerosis.
The involvement of oxidative stress in polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) in the pathogenesis of hypertension remains to be elucidated. We analyzed the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by the circulating and peritoneally infiltrating PMN from spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY). Flow cytometric analysis revealed that ROS generation by PMN from SHR was higher than that from WKY before (at 6 weeks of age) and after (at 16 weeks of age) the onset of hypertension. In vivo, ROS generation by PMN from SHR, but not that by PMN from WKY, was significantly suppressed by 10-week treatment with 50 mg/kg/day carvedilol, and this treatment did not affect blood pressure. Western blotting analysis revealed that protein kinase C alpha (PKCalpha), but not PKCbetaI or betaII, was activated more strongly in PMN from SHR than in PMN from WKY. Furthermore, expression of p47phox of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase, but not of p67phox, in PMN from SHR was higher than that in PMN from WKY. These results suggest that ROS generation by PMN is principally enhanced in SHR through activation of PKCalpha and p47phox.
Mitochondria are the major site for the generation of ATP at the expense of molecular oxygen. Significant fractions (approximately 2%) of oxygen are converted to the superoxide radical and its reactive metabolites (ROS) in and around mitochondria. Although ROS have been known to impair a wide variety of biological molecules including lipids, proteins and DNA, thereby causing various diseases, they also play critical roles in the maintenance of aerobic life. Because mitochondria are the major site of free radical generation, they are highly enriched with antioxidants including GSH and enzymes, such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase, on both sides of their membranes to minimize oxidative stress in and around this organelle. The present work reviews the sites and mechanism of ROS generation by mitochondria, mitochondrial localization of Mn-SOD and Cu,Zn-SOD which has been postulated for a long time to be a cytosolic enzyme. The present work also describes that a cross-talk of molecular oxygen, nitric oxide (NO) and superoxide radicals regulates the circulation, energy metabolism, apoptosis, and functions as a major defense system against pathogens. Pathophysiological significance of ROS generation by mitochondria in the etiology of aging, cancer and degenerative neuronal diseases is also described.
To understand the role of nitric oxide (NO) in the regulation of cellular metabolism in peritoneal macrophages under physiological low oxygen tension, its effect on the respiration and energy metabolism was examined with casein-induced peritoneal macrophages from the rat. Intraperitoneal injection of casein transiently induced peritoneal infiltration of neutrophils (peaked on day 1) followed by the migration of macrophages that peaked on day 2. Western blotting analysis using antibodies against inducible type of NO synthase (iNOS) revealed that macrophages appeared in the peritoneal cavity during an early stage (approximately day 2) but not during the late stage (day 3 approximately) of inflammation expressed iNOS and generated substantial amounts of NO by a mechanism that was inhibited by N-iminoethyl-L-ornithine (NIO), a specific inhibitor of iNOS. Although NO reversibly but strongly inhibited the respiration of macrophages from both stages particularly under physiologically low oxygen tension, NIO markedly enhanced the respiration of macrophages obtained from the early period but not from the late period of inflammation. The ATP level in the macrophages from the late period but not from the early period was markedly decreased by NO. Biochemical analysis revealed that the glycolytic activity in the macrophages obtained from the early period was significantly higher than that from the late period of inflammation. These results indicate that significant fractions of cellular ATP in iNOS-positive peritoneal macrophages are synthesized by the increased activity of glycolysis particularly under physiological low oxygen tensions where the mitochondrial respiration is strongly inhibited by endogenously generated NO by macrophages and neutrophils.