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Biomedical subjects

S D Aust

Publications and source records attributed to S D Aust.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

Biodegradation of TNT (2,4,6-trinitrotoluene) by Phanerochaete chrysosporium.

Extensive biodegradation of TNT (2,4,6-trinitrotoluene) by the white rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium was observed. At an initial concentration of 1.3 mg/liter, 35.4 +/- 3.6% of the [14C]TNT was degraded to 14CO2 in 18 days. The addition of glucose 12 days after the addition of TNT did not stimulate mineralization, and, after 18 days of incubation with TNT only, about 3.3% of the initial TNT could be recovered. Mineralization of [14C]TNT adsorbed on soil was also examined. Ground corncobs served as the nutrient for slow but sustained degradation of [14C]TNT to 14CO2 such that 6.3 +/- 0.6% of the [14C]TNT initially present was converted to 14CO2 during the 30-day incubation period. Mass balance analysis of liquid cultures and of soil-corncob cultures revealed that polar [14C]TNT metabolites are formed in both systems, and high-performance liquid chromatography analyses revealed that less than 5% of the radioactivity remained as undegraded [14C]TNT following incubation with the fungus in soil or liquid cultures. When the concentration of TNT in cultures (both liquid and soil) was adjusted to contamination levels that might be found in the environment, i.e., 10,000 mg/kg in soil and 100 mg/liter in water, mineralization studies showed that 18.4 +/- 2.9% and 19.6 +/- 3.5% of the initial TNT was converted to 14CO2 in 90 days in soil and liquid cultures, respectively. In both cases (90 days in water at 100 mg/liter and in soil at 10,000 mg/kg) approximately 85% of the TNT was degraded. These results suggest that this fungus may be useful for the decontamination of sites in the environment contaminated with TNT.

Biodegradation, Environmental↗

Comparative biodegradation of alkyl halide insecticides by the white rot fungus, Phanerochaete chrysosporium (BKM-F-1767).

The ability of Phanerochaete chrysosporium to degrade six alkyl halide insecticides (aldrin, dieldrin, heptachlor, chlordane, lindane, and mirex) in liquid and soil-corncob matrices was compared by using 14C-labeled compounds. Of these, only [14C]lindane and [14C]chlordane underwent extensive biodegradation, as evidenced by the fact that 9.4 to 23.4% of these compounds were degraded to 14CO2 in 30 days in liquid cultures and 60 days in soil-corncob cultures inoculated with P. chrysosporium. Although [14C]aldrin, [14C]dieldrin, [14C]heptachlor, and [14D]mirex were poorly mineralized, substantial bioconversion occurred, as determined by substrate disappearance and metabolite formation. Nonbiological disappearance was observed only with chlordane and heptachlor.

Aldrin↗

Studies of ascorbate-dependent, iron-catalyzed lipid peroxidation.

We have previously observed that both Fe(II) and Fe(III) are required for lipid peroxidation to occur, with maximal rates of lipid peroxidation observed when the ratio of Fe(II) to Fe(III) is approximately one (J. R. Bucher et al. (1983) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 111, 777-784; G. Minotti and S. D. Aust (1987) J. Biol. Chem. 262, 1098-1104). Consistent with the requirement for both Fe(II) and Fe(III), ascorbate, by reducing Fe(III) to Fe(II), stimulated iron-catalyzed lipid peroxidation but when the ascorbate concentration was sufficient to reduce all of the Fe(III) to Fe(II), ascorbate inhibited lipid peroxidation. The rates of lipid peroxidation were unaffected by the addition of catalase, superoxide dismutase, or hydroxyl radical scavengers. Exogenously added H2O2 also either stimulated or inhibited ascorbate-dependent, iron-catalyzed lipid peroxidation apparently by altering the ratio of Fe(II) to Fe(III). Thus, it appears that the prooxidant effect of ascorbate is related to the ability of ascorbate to promote the formation of a proposed Fe(II):Fe(III) complex and not due to oxygen radical production. The antioxidant effect of ascorbate on iron-catalyzed lipid peroxidation may be due to complete reduction of iron.

Animals↗

Inhibition of superoxide and ferritin-dependent lipid peroxidation by ceruloplasmin.

Ceruloplasmin (CP) was found to inhibit xanthine oxidase and ferritin-dependent peroxidation of phospholipid liposomes, as evidenced by decreased malondialdehyde formation. Ceruloplasmin was also shown to inhibit superoxide-mediated mobilization of iron from ferritin, in a concentration-dependent manner, as measured spectrophotometrically using the iron(II) chelator bathophenanthroline sulfonate. Ceruloplasmin failed to function as a peroxyl radical-scavenging antioxidant as evidenced by its inability to inhibit free radical-initiated peroxidation of linoleic acid, suggesting that CP inhibited lipid peroxidation by affecting the availability of ferritin-derived iron. In addition, CP scavenged xanthine oxidase-derived superoxide as measured spectrophotometrically via its effect on cytochrome c reduction. However, the extent of the superoxide scavenging of CP did not quantitatively account for its effects on iron release, suggesting that CP inhibits superoxide-dependent mobilization of ferritin iron independently of its ability to scavenge superoxide. The effects of CP and apoferritin on iron-catalyzed lipid peroxidation in systems containing exogenously added ferrous iron was also investigated. In the absence of apoferritin, CP exhibited a concentration-dependent prooxidant effect. However, CP-dependent, iron-catalyzed lipid peroxidation was inhibited by the addition of apoferritin. Apoferritin did not function as a peroxyl radical-scavenging antioxidant but was shown to incorporate iron in the presence of CP. These data suggest that CP inhibits superoxide and ferritin-dependent lipid peroxidation largely via its ability to reincorporate reductively mobilized iron back into ferritin.

Animals↗

TCDD (2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin) is a tight binding inhibitor of cytochrome P-450d.

Based on data indicating that compounds which induce cytochrome P-450d also bind to the enzyme [R. Voorman and S. D. Aust (1987). Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 90, 69-78], we investigated the inhibition of cytochrome P-450d-dependent estradiol 2-hydroxylase by (2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin TCDD), using ligand-free cytochrome P-450d from isosafrole-treated rats. Since maximum inhibition of estradiol 2-hydroxylase occurred at TCDD concentrations comparable to the concentration of enzyme (50 nM), a modified form of steady-state kinetic analysis was used. Using I50 = Et/2 + Ki where Et = total enzyme concentration), we showed that TCDD inhibited cytochrome P-450d-dependent estradiol 2-hydroxylase activity with Ki equal to 8 nM. Association of TCDD with P-450d occurred within 2 min of inhibitor addition. Therefore, TCDD can be considered a tight binding inhibitor of cytochrome P-450d.

Animals↗

Vanadate-dependent NAD(P)H oxidation by microsomal enzymes.

Vanadate-dependent NAD(P)H oxidation, catalyzed by rat liver microsomes and microsomal NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase (P450 reductase) and NADH-cytochrome b5 reductase (b5 reductase), was investigated. These enzymes and intact microsomes catalyzed NAD(P)H oxidation in the presence of either ortho- or polyvanadate. Antibody to P450 reductase inhibited orthovanadate-dependent NADPH oxidation catalyzed by either purified P450 reductase or rat liver microsomes and had no effect on the rates of NADH oxidation catalyzed by b5 reductase. NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase catalyzed orthovanadate-dependent NADPH oxidation five times faster than NADH-cytochrome b5 reductase catalyzed NADH oxidation. Orthovanadate-dependent oxidation of either NADPH or NADH, catalyzed by purified reductases or rat liver microsomes, occurred in an anaerobic system, which indicated that superoxide is not an obligate intermediate in this process. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) inhibited orthovanadate, but not polyvanadate-mediated, enzyme-dependent NAD(P)H oxidation. SOD also inhibited when pyridine nucleotide oxidation was conducted anaerobically, suggesting that SOD inhibits vanadate-dependent NAD(P)H oxidation by a mechanism independent of scavenging of O2-.

Aerobiosis↗

Alloxan- and glutathione-dependent ferritin iron release and lipid peroxidation.

The diabetogenic action of alloxan is believed to involve oxygen free radicals and iron. Incubation of glutathione (GSH) and alloxan with rat liver ferritin resulted in release of ferrous iron as assayed by spectrophotometric detection of ferrous-bathophenanthroline complex formation. Neither GSH nor alloxan alone mediated iron release from ferritin. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase did not affect initial rates of iron release whereas ceruloplasmin was an effective inhibitor of iron release. The reaction of GSH with alloxan resulted in the formation of the alloxan radical which was detected by ESR spectroscopy and by following the increase in absorbance at 310nm. In both instances, the addition of ferritin resulted in diminished alloxan radical detection. Incubation of GSH, alloxan, and ferritin with phospholipid liposomes also resulted in lipid peroxidation. Lipid peroxidation did not occur in the absence of ferritin. The rates of lipid peroxidation were not affected by the addition of SOD or catalase, but were inhibited by ceruloplasmin. These results suggest that the alloxan radical releases iron from ferritin and indicates that ferritin iron may be involved in alloxan-promoted lipid peroxidation.

Alloxan↗

The role of iron in oxygen radical mediated lipid peroxidation.

The role of iron in the peroxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids is reviewed, especially with respect to the involvement of oxygen radicals. The hydroxyl radical can be generated by a superoxide-driven Haber-Weiss reaction or by Fenton's reaction; and the hydroxyl radical can initiate lipid peroxidation. However, lipid peroxidation is frequently insensitive to hydroxyl radical scavengers or superoxide dismutase. We propose that the hydroxyl radical may not be involved in the peroxidation of membrane lipids, but instead lipid peroxidation requires both Fe2+ and Fe3+. The inability of superoxide dismutase to affect lipid peroxidation can be explained by the fact that the direct reduction of iron can occur, exemplified by rat liver microsomal NADPH-dependent lipid peroxidation. Catalase can be stimulatory, inhibitory or without affect because H2O2 may oxidize some Fe2+ to form the required Fe3+, or, alternatively, excess H2O2 may inhibit by excessive oxidation of the Fe2+. In an analogous manner reductants can form the initiating complex by reduction of Fe3+, but complete reduction would inhibit lipid peroxidation. All of these redox reactions would be influenced by iron chelation.

Animals↗

Effects of dietary retinyl acetate on the promotion of hepatic enzyme-altered foci by polybrominated biphenyls in initiated rats.

Vitamin A inhibits the development of some chemically-induced tumours. Since polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) are hepatic tumour promoters and they affect vitamin A homeostasis in rats, we put forward the hypothesis that dietary levels of vitamin A would influence tumour promotion by PBBs. In the study described here, female Sprague-Dawley rats were initiated on day 1 by ip administration of diethylnitrosamine. On day 7 after initiation, the rats were fed a vitamin A-deficient basal diet that was supplemented with either 2000 IU (low-vitamin A) or 200,000 IU (high-vitamin A) retinyl acetate/kg feed. From day 30 after initiation until the end of the study the following PBBs were added to the diets: Firemaster BP-6 (10 ppm), 2,4,5,2',4',5'-hexabromobiphenyl (10 ppm) or 3,4,5,3',4',5'-hexabromobiphenyl (1 ppm). The control animals received low- or high-vitamin A diets containing no PBBs. On day 180, the rats were necropsied, sections of various tissues were stained for histopathological examination and an evaluation of hepatic enzyme-altered foci was performed. Numbers of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase-positive foci/cm3 liver and the mean volumes of these foci were lower in the high-vitamin A groups than those in the corresponding low-vitamin A groups, but these differences were not significant. The percentage of the liver volume occupied by foci was significantly greater in the low-vitamin A with 345-HBB group than in the corresponding high-vitamin A group. Thus, high dietary levels of vitamin A had some inhibitory effect on the promotion of hepatic-altered foci by 345-HBB in initiated rats.

Animals↗

Inducers of cytochrome P-450d: influence on microsomal catalytic activities and differential regulation by enzyme stabilization.

The interaction of isosafrole, 3,4,5,3',4',5'-hexabromobiphenyl (HBB) and hexachlorobiphenyl (HCB) with cytochrome P-450d was evaluated by characterization of estradiol 2-hydroxylase activity. Displacement of the isosafrole metabolite from microsomal cytochrome P-450d derived from isosafrole-treated rats resulted in a 160% increase in estradiol 2-hydroxylase. The increase was fully reversed by incubation with 1 microM HBB. Although isosafrole is capable of forming a complex with many different cytochrome P-450 isozymes, it appears to bind largely to cytochrome P-450d in vivo as was demonstrated by measuring the enzymatic activity of microsomal cytochromes P-450b, P-450c, and P-450d from isosafrole-treated rats. When estradiol 2-hydroxylase was measured in rats treated with increasing doses of HCB, there was a gradual decrease in microsomal enzyme activity despite a 20-fold increase in cytochrome P-450d. The ability of cytochrome P-450d ligands to stabilize the enzyme was investigated in two ways. First, cytochromes P-450c and P-450d were quantitated immunochemically in microsomes from rats treated with 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), at a dose which maximally induced total cytochrome P-450, followed by a single dose of a second inducer. The specific content of cytochrome P-450d was significantly increased when isosafrole or HCB was the second inducer but not when 3-methylcholanthrene was the second inducer. Second, the relative turnover of cytochrome P-450d was measured by the dual label technique. Following TCDD treatment, microsomal protein was labeled in vivo with [3H]leucine, the second inducer was given and protein was again labeled 3 days later with [14C]leucine. A higher ratio of 3H/14C in the cytochrome P-450d from isosafrole + TCDD- and HCB + TCDD-treated rats relative to TCDD (control)-treated rats suggested that isosafrole and HCB were able to retard the degradation of cytochrome P-450d, presumably by virtue of being tightly bound to the enzyme.

Animals↗

Iron release from ferritin and lipid peroxidation by radiolytically generated reducing radicals.

Iron is involved in the formation of oxidants capable of damaging membranes, protein, and DNA. Using 137Cs gamma radiation, we investigated the release of iron from ferritin and concomitant lipid peroxidation by radiolytically generated reducing radicals, superoxide and the carbon dioxide anion radical. Both radicals released iron from ferritin with similar efficiencies and iron mobilization from ferritin required an iron chelator. Radiolytically generated superoxide anion resulted in peroxidation of phospholipid liposomes as measured by malondialdehyde formation only when ferritin was included as an iron source and the released iron was found to be chelated by the phospholipid liposomes.

Carbon Dioxide↗

Effect of diquat on the distribution of iron in rat liver.

Diquat toxicity is proposed to be mediated through the generation of active oxygen species; however, the exact role of active oxygen in toxicity is not known. The generation of damaging oxygen radicals requires transition metals such as iron. In vitro studies have shown that redox cycling of diquat results in the release of iron from ferritin, thus, increasing the potential for active oxygen species generation. We sought to determine if diquat administration to male Sprague-Dawley rats would result in the release of iron from ferritin in vivo. Rats were treated with diquat dibromide (20 mg/kg body weight) and the effect on the iron distribution in liver was determined. The results show that diquat-treated animals had increased levels of hepatic low molecular weight chelatable iron (LMWC-Fe) and decreased levels of hepatic ferritin iron when compared to saline-treated animals. These results suggest that diquat toxicity may be associated with the release of iron from ferritin in vivo and that iron release from ferritin may be a process common to other free radical mediated toxicities.

Animals↗

Activity of thyroid hormone-inducible enzymes following treatment with 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin.

2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) caused a depletion of serum thyroxine, but paradoxically did not change L-3,5,3'-triiodothyronine (T3) levels in serum of rats. The activities of the thyroid-regulated enzymes alpha-glycerol phosphate dehydrogenase (GPD) and malic enzyme (ME) were determined in livers of normal and thyroidectomized (THX) rats treated with 0.1 to 100 nmol TCDD/kg body weight. Mitochondrial GPD activity did not change significantly as a function of TCDD dose in either normal or THX rats. ME activity was induced by TCDD in a dose-dependent fashion, but only in non-THX animals. The absence of ME induction in THX rats treated with TCDD indicates that TCDD is not intrinsically thyromimetic. The dependence of ME induction on thyroid hormones is much like the thyroid-hormone-dependent, multihormonal induction of ME by insulin and glucocorticoids. However, TCDD had no additive or synergistic effects on induction of ME activity in THX rats fed T3. A 30% decrease in steady-state plasma T3 levels of T3-fed animals treated with TCDD relative to T3-fed controls suggested that T3 catabolism was more rapid in TCDD-treated rats than controls. Thus a thyroid-hormone-dependent, multihormonal interaction is suggested as the basis for induction of ME by TCDD, but a strictly T3-dependent process has not been ruled out.

Administration, Oral↗

Effect on biochemical markers of brain injury of therapy with deferoxamine or superoxide dismutase following cardiac arrest.

Iron-mediated lipid peroxidation by oxygen radical mechanisms is thought to be a contributing factor to neurological injury during reperfusion following resuscitation from cardiac arrest. This study was designed to examine and compare the effects of an iron chelator (deferoxamine) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) on brain lipid peroxidation and tissue ions after eight hours of reperfusion following a 15-minute cardiac arrest. This sampling time was chosen because other work with this model has shown severe ionic and ultrastructural derangement at this point. Twenty-three dogs were anesthetized with ketamine and halothane and divided into four groups. Six dogs were nonischemic controls (group I). In the remaining dogs, a 15-minute cardiac arrest was induced with KCl. Resuscitation was begun with internal cardiac massage and artificial ventilation. After five minutes of artificial perfusion, internal defibrillation was performed to restart the heart. All dogs were resuscitated and supported by a standard intensive care (SIC) protocol for eight hours. Six resuscitated dogs served as SIC controls (group II). Six were treated with deferoxamine, 200 mg/kg loading dose and 100 mg/kg/h maintenance drip (group III), and five were treated with SOD, 1,000,000 units bolus and 500,000 units/h drip (group IV). All drugs were administered intravenously immediately postresuscitation. At eight hours postresuscitation, a 3-g portion of parietal cerebral cortex was obtained through a trephine hole. The sample was assayed for tissue malondialdehyde (MDA) by the thiobarbituric acid test, the double bond content of the tissue lipids (lipid unsaturation index, LUSI), and total tissue content of K and Na.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗