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S G Kim

Publications and source records attributed to S G Kim.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

Characterization of cDNAs encoding cytoplasmic ribosomal protein L15 and L27a in petunia (Petunia hybrida): primary structures and coordinate expression.

We have isolated two cDNA clones, PhRL15 and PhRL27a, encoding cytoplasmic ribosomal proteins L15 and L27a, from a cDNA library prepared from petunia petal protoplast cultures. An expressed sequence tag (EST) strategy was employed. PhRL15 and PhRL27a contained open reading frames corresponding to proteins of 204 and 150 amino acids and molecular weights of 24,100 and 17,000Da, respectively. The deduced amino acid sequences of these clones are about 60% to 70%, identical with those of yeast and rat. Southern blot analysis indicates that each gene may be encoded by a small multigene. The transcription levels of both clones were high in young vegetative organs, at the early event of floral development, and in dividing petal protoplast, and relatively low in highly differentiated reproductive organs. Our results demonstrate that the expression levels of both clones are correlated with the rate of growth and coordinatively controlled in petunia plant.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Reproducibility of BOLD-based functional MRI obtained at 4 T.

The reproducibility of activation patterns in the whole brain obtained by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiments at 4 Tesla was studied with a simple finger-opposition task. Six subjects performed three runs in one session, and each run was analyzed separately with the t-test as a univariate method and Fisher's linear discriminant analysis as a multivariate method. Detrending with a first- and third-order polynomial as well as logarithmic transformation as preprocessing steps for the t-test were tested for their impact on reproducibility. Reproducibility across the whole brain was studied by using scatter plots of statistical values and calculating the correlation coefficient between pairs of activation maps. In order to compare reproducibility of "activated" voxels across runs, subjects and models, 2% of all voxels in the brain with the highest statistical values were classified as activated. The analysis of reproducible activated voxels was performed for the whole brain and within regions of interest. We found considerable variability in reproducibility across subjects, regions of interest, and analysis methods. The t-test on the linear detrended data yielded better reproducibility than Fisher's linear discriminant analysis, and therefore seems to be a robust although conservative method. Preliminary data indicate that these modeling results may be reversed by preprocessing to reduce respiratory and cardiac physiological noise effects. The reproducibility of both the position and number of activated voxels in the sensorimotor cortex was highest, while that of the supplementary motor area was much lower, with reproducibility of the cerebellum falling in between the other two areas.

Adult↗

Determination of relative CMRO2 from CBF and BOLD changes: significant increase of oxygen consumption rate during visual stimulation.

The blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) effect in functional magnetic resonance imaging depends on at least partial uncoupling between cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO2) changes. By measuring CBF and BOLD simultaneously, the relative change in CMRO2 can be estimated during neural activity using a reference condition obtained with known CMRO2 change. In this work, nine subjects were studied at a magnetic field of 1.5 T; each subject underwent inhalation of a 5% carbon dioxide gas mixture as a reference and two visual stimulation studies. Relative CBF and BOLD signal changes were measured simultaneously using the flow-sensitive alternating inversion recovery (FAIR) technique. During hypercapnia established by an end-tidal CO2 increase of 1.46 kPa, CBF in the visual cortex increased by 47.3 +/- 17.3% (mean +/- SD; n = 9), and deltaR2* was -0.478 +/- 0.147 sec(-1), which corresponds to BOLD signal change of 2.4 +/- 0.7% with a gradient echo time of 50 msec. During black/white visual stimulation reversing at 8 Hz, regional CBF increase in the visual cortex was 43.6 +/- 9.4% (n = 18), and deltaR2* was -0.114 +/- 0.086 sec(-1), corresponding to a BOLD signal change of 0.6 +/- 0.4%. Assuming that CMRO2 does not change during hypercapnia and that hemodynamic responses during hypercapnia and neural stimulation are similar, relative CMRO2 change was determined using BOLD biophysical models. The average CMRO2 change in the visual cortex ranged from 15.6 +/- 8.1% (n = 18) with significant cerebral blood volume (CBV) contribution to 29.6 +/- 18.8% without significant CBV contribution. A weak positive correlation between CBF and CMRO2 changes was observed, suggesting the CMRO2 increase is proportional to the CBF increase.

Adult↗

Pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling technique for measuring CBF dynamics with high temporal resolution.

Cerebral blood flow (CBF) can be measured noninvasively with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) by using arterial water as an endogenous perfusion tracer. However, the arterial spin labeling (ASL) techniques suffer from poor temporal resolution due to the need to wait for the exchange of labeled arterial spins with tissue spins to produce contrast. In this work, a new ASL technique is introduced, which allows the measurement of CBF dynamics with high temporal and spatial resolution. This novel method was used in rats to determine the dynamics of CBF changes elicited by somatosensory stimulation with a temporal resolution of 108 ms. The onset time of the CBF response was 0.6 +/- 0.4 sec (mean +/- SD) after onset of stimulation (n = 10). The peak response was observed 4.4 +/- 3.7 sec (mean +/- SD) after stimulation began. These results are in excellent agreement with previous data obtained with invasive techniques, such as laser-Doppler flowmetry and hydrogen clearance, and suggest the appropriateness of this novel technique to probe CBF dynamics in functional and pathological studies with high temporal and spatial resolution. Magn Reson Med 42:425-429, 1999.

Animals↗

Diffusion-weighted spin-echo fMRI at 9.4 T: microvascular/tissue contribution to BOLD signal changes.

The nature of vascular contribution to blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) contrast used in functional MRI (fMRI) is poorly understood. To investigate vascular contributions at an ultrahigh magnetic field of 9.4 T, diffusion-weighted fMRI techniques were used in a rat forepaw stimulation model. Tissue and blood T(2) values were measured to optimize the echo time for fMRI. The T(2) of arterial blood was 40.8 +/- 3.4 msec (mean +/- SD; n = 5), similar to the tissue T(2) of 38.6 +/- 2.1 msec (n = 16). In comparison, the T(2) of venous blood at an oxygenation level of 79.6 +/- 6.1% was 9. 2 +/- 2.3 msec (n = 11). The optimal spin-echo time of 40 msec was confirmed from echo-time dependency fMRI studies. The intravascular contribution was examined using a graded diffusion-weighted spin-echo echo-planar imaging technique with diffusion weighting factor (b) values of up to 1200 sec/mm(2). Relative BOLD signal changes induced by forepaw stimulation showed no dependence on the strength or direction of the diffusion-sensitizing gradients, suggesting that the large vessel contribution to the BOLD signal is negligible at 9.4 T. However, gradient-echo fMRI performed with bipolar diffusion sensitizing gradients, which suppress intravascular components from large vessels, showed higher percent signal changes in the surface of the brain. This effect was attributed to the extravascular contribution from large vessels. These findings demonstrate that caution should be exercised when interpreting that higher percent changes obtained with gradient-echo BOLD fMRI are related to stronger neural activation. Magn Reson Med 42:919-928, 1999.

Animals↗

Synthesis and analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of 1,2-benzothiazine derivatives.

Three 1,2-benzothiazine derivatives were synthesized, and their analgesic/anti-inflammatory efficacy and their effects on gastric irritation were evaluated. Among the three compounds, 39 exhibited the most potent analgesic action, but the effect was weaker than that of piroxicam. Nonetheless, the compound showed 4 times more potent analgesic action with less gastric damage than did ibuprofen. These compounds did not show anti-inflammatory effect at an oral dose of 5 mg/kg.

Analgesics, Non-Narcotic↗

Chemopreventive effects of 2-(allylthio)pyrazine.

A series of organosulfur compounds were synthesized with the aim of developing chemopreventive compounds active against hepatotoxicity and chemical carcinogenesis. 2-(Allylthio) pyrazine (2-AP) was effective in inhibiting cytochrome P450 2E1-mediated catalytic activities and protein expression, and in inducing microsomal epoxide hydrolase and major glutathione S-transferases. 2-AP reduced the hepatotoxicity caused by toxicants and elevated cellular GSH content. Development of skin tumors, pulmonary adenoma and aberrant crypt foci in colon by various chemical carcinogens was inhibited by 2-AP pretreatment. Anticarcinogenic effects of 2-AP at the stage of initiation of tumors were also observed in the aflatoxin B1 (AFB1)-induced three-step medium-term hepatocarcinogenesis model. Reduction of AFB1-DNA adduct by 2-AP appeared to result from the decreased formation of AFB1-8,9-epoxide via suppression of cytochrome P450, while induction of GST by 2-AP increases the excretion of glutathione-conjugated AFB1. 2-AP was a radioprotective agent effective against the lethal dose of total body irradiation and reduced radiation-induced injury in association with the elevation of detoxifying gene expression. 2-AP produces reactive oxygen species in vivo, which is not mediated with the thiol-dependent production of oxidants and that NF-kappa B activation is not involved in the induction of the detoxifying enzymes. The mechanism of chemoprotection by 2-AP may involve inhibition of the P450-mediated metabolic activation of chemical carcinogens and enhancement of electrophilic detoxification through induction of phase II detoxification enzymes which would facilitate the clearance of activated metabolites through conjugation reaction.

Animals↗

Grafting of large defects of the jaws with a particulate dentin-plaster of paris combination.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this report is to show the usefulness and discuss the effects of a particulate dentin and plaster of paris combination as a bone graft material in jaw defects. STUDY DESIGN: This was a retrospective evaluation of 10 patients with jaw defects who underwent grafting with a combination of particulate dentin and plaster of paris. The material was used when the defects were more than 20 mm in diameter. The ratio was 2:1 by weight. Patients were examined for any evidence of infection and recurrence during the follow-up periods. RESULTS: During a mean follow-up of 52.2 months (range, 50 to 57 months), patients had minor immediate postoperative complications. These complications were swelling and perforation; they were treated without problems through use of incision and drainage, antibiotic treatment, and buccal flap. CONCLUSIONS: On the basis of the results that we obtained radiographically and clinically, it may be concluded that the particulate dentin plaster mixture is a useful and readily available material for bone substitute.

Adolescent↗

Cardiac memory after radiofrequency ablation of accessory pathways: the post-ablation T wave does not forget the pre-excited QRS.

INTRODUCTION: Normalization of the pre-excited QRS following ablation is accompanied by repolarization changes but their directional relationship to changes in ventricular activation has not been well characterized. METHODS: Accordingly, we measured QRS and T wave vectors and QRS-T angles from 12 lead ECG recordings immediately before and after accessory pathway (AP) radiofrequency ablation in 100 consecutive patients. Patients with bundle branch block, intraventricular conduction defect or intermittent pre-excitation were excluded, leaving a study group of 45 patients: 35 with pre-excitation and 10 with concealed APs. RESULTS: With AP ablation, changes occurred in the QRS and T wave vectors and QRS-T angles that were essentially equal and opposite, so that the newly normalized QRS complex and QRS vector were accompanied by a T wave whose vector approximated that of the pre-ablation QRS vector. This tended to maintain a large QRS-T angle: 72 degrees +/- 50 degrees before, and 54 degrees +/- 34 degrees after QRS normalization (p = NS). A QRS-T angle >40 degrees was found before and after ablation in 22/35 patients (63%) with baseline pre-excitation; but never in patients with a concealed AP (p = 0.001). The angle between the pre-excited QRS and the post-ablation T wave was 35 degrees +/- 37 degrees, and </=40 degrees in 25/35 patients (71%). The change in T wave axis with QRS normalization correlated in magnitude with the QRS-T angle before ablation (r = 0.73, p < 0.0001). The change in QRS axis correlated with the QRS-T angle after ablation (r = 0.37, p < 0.03). Shorter AP effective refractory periods (ERPs) correlated with wider QRS-T angles after ablation (r = -0.39, p < 0.03). The ECG leads manifesting these changes depend on AP location. CONCLUSION: T-wave changes after ablation of APs (1) are dependent on anterograde AP conduction at baseline and are not observed with concealed APs; (2) correlate in magnitude directly with the change in QRS axis and inversely with the anterograde AP-ERP; (3) are related to AP location. With termination of pre-excitation secondary repolarization changes immediately disappear and the post ablation T wave axis approximates that of the pre-excited QRS. Recognition of this sequence may prevent unnecessary clinical interventions.

Adolescent↗

New studies on trans-anethole oxide and trans-asarone oxide.

The widespread use of naturally occurring alkenylbenzenes as flavoring and fragrance agents has led to a long-standing interest in their toxicity and carcinogenicity. Among them several allyl- and propenylbenzenes have been found to be mutagenic and carcinogenic. It has been shown that the carcinogenicity of several allylbenzenes can be related to the formation of electrophilic sulfuric acid esters following 1'-hydroxylation. Unlike the allylbenzenes, the mechanisms of carcinogenesis of propenylbenzenes such as anethole and asarone are not clear. It has been reported that one of the main metabolic pathways of trans-anethole is the epoxidation of the side chain 1,2-double bond, which was responsible for cytotoxicity but not for genotoxicity. However, we report here that synthetic trans-anethole oxide prepared from trans-anethole and dimethyldioxirane is not only mutagenic for Salmonella tester strains but is also carcinogenic in the induction of hepatomas in B6C3F1 mice and skin papillomas in CD-1 mice. Synthetic trans-asarone oxide was also carcinogenic in the induction of hepatomas as well as mutagenic for Salmonella strains. Further studies are needed on these side chain oxides of trans-anethole and trans-asarone as possible metabolites in the toxicity, mutagenicity and carcinogenicity of these and other propenylbenzenes.

Allylbenzene Derivatives↗

Simultaneous blood oxygenation level-dependent and cerebral blood flow functional magnetic resonance imaging during forepaw stimulation in the rat.

The blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) contrast mechanism can be modeled as a complex interplay between CBF, cerebral blood volume (CBV), and CMRO2. Positive BOLD signal changes are presumably caused by CBF changes in excess of increases in CMRO2. Because this uncoupling between CBF and CMRO2 may not always be present, the magnitude of BOLD changes may not be a good index of CBF changes. In this study, the relation between BOLD and CBF was investigated further. Continuous arterial spin labeling was combined with a single-shot, multislice echo-planar imaging to enable simultaneous measurements of BOLD and CBF changes in a well-established model of functional brain activation, the electrical forepaw stimulation of alpha-chloralose-anesthetized rats. The paradigm consisted of two 18- to 30-second stimulation periods separated by a 1-minute resting interval. Stimulation parameters were optimized by laser Doppler flowmetry. For the same cross-correlation threshold, the BOLD and CBF active maps were centered within the size of one pixel (470 microm). However, the BOLD map was significantly larger than the CBF map. Measurements taken from 15 rats at 9.4 T using a 10-millisecond echo-time showed 3.7 +/- 1.7% BOLD and 125.67 +/- 81.7% CBF increases in the contralateral somatosensory cortex during the first stimulation, and 2.6 +/- 1.2% BOLD and 79.3 +/- 43.6% CBF increases during the second stimulation. The correlation coefficient between BOLD and CBF changes was 0.89. The overall temporal correlation coefficient between BOLD and CBF time-courses was 0.97. These results show that under the experimental conditions of the current study, the BOLD signal changes follow the changes in CBF.

Animals↗

Phase-field model for binary alloys.

We present a phase-field model (PFM) for solidification in binary alloys, which is found from the phase-field model for a pure material by direct comparison of the variables for a pure material solidification and alloy solidification. The model appears to be equivalent with the Wheeler-Boettinger-McFadden (WBM) model [A.A. Wheeler, W. J. Boettinger, and G. B. McFadden, Phys. Rev. A 45, 7424 (1992)], but has a different definition of the free energy density for interfacial region. An extra potential originated from the free energy density definition in the WBM model disappears in this model. At a dilute solution limit, the model is reduced to the Tiaden et al. model [Physica D 115, 73 (1998)] for a binary alloy. A relationship between the phase-field mobility and the interface kinetics coefficient is derived at a thin-interface limit condition under an assumption of negligible diffusivity in the solid phase. For a dilute alloy, a steady-state solution of the concentration profile across the diffuse interface is obtained as a function of the interface velocity and the resultant partition coefficient is compared with the previous solute trapping model. For one dimensional steady-state solidification, where the classical sharp-interface model is exactly soluble, we perform numerical simulations of the phase-field model: At low interface velocity, the simulated results from the thin-interface PFM are in excellent agreement with the exact solutions. As the partition coefficient becomes close to unit at high interface velocities, whereas, the sharp-interface PFM yields the correct answer.

Journal Article↗

Comparison of matched BOLD and FAIR 4.0T-fMRI with [15O]water PET brain volumes.

Valid comparisons of functional activation volumes from fMRI and PET require accurate registration, matched spatial resolution, and if possible matched noise. We coregistered 4.0T-fMRI and PET volumes, using a series of linear and nonlinear transformations applied to the PET volumes. Because of the limited number of fMRI slices that were available, PET volumes were transformed to the fMRI space. Since 4.0T-fMRI and 4.0T-MRI volumes have significant spatial distortion due to magnet inhomogeneities, high resolution 1.5T-MRI volumes were nonlinearly transformed to 4.0T-MRI volumes as part of the transformation chain. The smoothing effects of these registration transformations were measured, in order to match the spatial resolution of the coregistered fMRI and PET volumes. Spatial resolution of the transformed PET volumes in the fMRI space was degraded by up to 60% due to the transformation process. Due to both the image acquisition characteristics and the coregistration process, the transformed PET volumes had a spatial resolution that was lower than that of tMRI. Therefore, significant smoothing of fMRI volumes was necessary to match their spatial resolution with that of the transformed PET volumes. Matching the spatial resolution of the fMRI volumes to those of the transformed PET volumes was achieved by matching the shape of their point spread functions. In order to do this, Gaussian kernels were employed to smooth the fMRI volumes. We were unable to simultaneously match the resolution and noise of fMRI and PET signals in the motor cortex. Activation maps derived from transformed PET and smoothed fMRI volumes were compared. Contralateral motor cortex was active in all modalities but there were large variations in the size of the activated region and its signal to noise ratio across BOLD, FAIR, and PET images within each subject. Nevertheless, the relative CBF changes measured by FAIR were consistent with those determined by PET.

Biophysical Phenomena↗

T cell subsets in chronic hepatitis B and the effect of prednisolone withdrawal and interferon alpha-2b.

OBJECTIVES: The evaluations of the pathogenetic roles of cell mediated immunity and of the preventive effect for disease progression with interferon(IFN) treatment in patients with chronic active hepatitis-B(CAH-B) are the objectives of this study. METHODS: Thirty-two patients with CAH-B were treated with interferon alpha-2b(IFN alpha-2b) with prednisolone withdrawal and 30 control patients were treated with conventional hepatotonics for 6 months. Peripheral total T cell fractions and T cell subsets of the patients with CAH-B, treated with IFN alpha-2b with prednisolone withdrawal, were examined 1 month before administration of prednisolone, and compared with 12 normal controls for assessing the potential role of cellular immunity in the development of CAH-B. To estimate the effectiveness of IFN therapy for the patients with CAH-B, levels of various liver function tests, HBsAg, anti-HBs, HBeAg, anti-HBe, HBV DNA, anti-HCV and others were assessed for the treatment group and compared with control patients at pre- and post-treatment period each. RESULTS: The value of CD4 was significantly lower in patients with CAH-B than normal controls (36.3 +/- 7.7% vs 42.1 +/- 5.7%, p < 0.05) and the value of CD8 was significantly higher in patients with CAH-B than normal controls (30.6 +/- 10.3% vs 24.3 +/- 5.2%, p < 0.05) before prednisolone administration. The patients in responder group (n = 26) had significantly lower CD4 cells compared with normal controls, but non-responders (n = 6) did not have. The levels of liver function test(LFT) in the patients with IFN alpha-2b treatment with prednisolone withdrawal were not different from the control patient group at pretreatment, but significantly lower than control patient group's after treatment, regardless of response to IFN alpha-2b treatment with prednisolone withdrawal. CONCLUSIONS: The cellular immunity of the host may have a potential role in the pathogenesis of chronicity of hepatitis B infection. IFN alpha-2b treatment with prednisolone withdrawal may be regarded as one of the effective treatment modalities for the inhibition of disease progression in patients with CAH-B.

Adult↗

Molecular basis for hepatic detoxifying enzyme induction by 2-(allylthio)pyrazine in rats in comparison with oltipraz: effects on prooxidant production and DNA degradation.

The expression of hepatic microsomal epoxide hydrolase (mEH) and glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) by 2-(allylthio)pyrazine (2-AP), an experimental chemopreventive agent, was investigated in rats. Northern blot analysis revealed that 2-AP caused increases in mEH, rGSTA2/3/5, and rGSTM1/2 mRNA levels. mEH and rGSTA2 proteins were also induced. Molecular basis of the enzyme induction by 2-AP was studied in comparison with oltipraz (Olt). Rats exposed to buthionine sulfoximine, a GSH-depleting agent, before treatment with either 2-AP or Olt exhibited greater increases in the mRNA levels than the individual treatment. Conversely, increases of the mRNAs were prevented by cysteine treatment, indicating that metabolic intermediates or reactive oxygens produced from the agents could be reduced by cysteine. Gel shift analysis revealed that nuclear factor-kappaB, which is associated with the altered cellular redox state, was not activated by the agents. Effects of these agents on the breakage of phix-174 DNA were compared in vitro. 2-AP effectively reduced the conversion of supercoiled DNA to the open circular form induced by benzenetriol and prevented benzenetriol- and iron-catalyzed degradation of DNA, whereas Olt failed to prevent strand breakage of DNA. These results provided evidence that: 1) 2-AP was effective in elevating the hepatic mEH and GST gene expression in rats, which might be mediated with the production of reactive oxygen species; 2) nuclear factor-kappaB activation was not involved in the induction of the detoxifying enzymes by either 2-AP or Olt in spite of their production of reactive oxygens in vivo; and 3) the antioxidant effect of 2-AP in vitro differed from that of Olt.

Animals↗

Lipopolysaccharide inhibition of rat hepatic microsomal epoxide hydrolase and glutathione S-transferase gene expression irrespective of nuclear factor-kappaB activation.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is an endotoxin involved in septic shock syndrome and potentiates toxicant-induced liver injury. The effects of LPS on the constitutive and inducible expression of hepatic microsomal epoxide hydrolase (mEH) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) genes were studied in rats. Northern blot analysis showed that treatment of rats with LPS caused suppression in mEH and GST gene expression. The mEH mRNA level was decreased in a time-dependent manner following a single dose of LPS (1 mg/kg, i.v.), resulting in levels of 52%, 22%, 17%, and 94% of those in untreated animals at 2, 6, 12, and 24 hr, respectively. The levels of rGSTA2 and rGSTA3 mRNA were suppressed in response to an LPS injection to the similar extents as observed in mEH mRNA, whereas rGSTM1 and rGSTM2 mRNA levels were less affected. LPS inhibited mEH gene expression at the doses of 1 microg or greater. Whereas treatment of rats with allyl disulfide (ADS), oltipraz (OZ) or pyrazine (PZ) at the dose of 50 mg/kg caused increases in the mEH mRNA level at 12 hr, a concomitant LPS injection (1 mg/kg) resulted in 80%-95% suppression of the inducible gene expression. The inducible rGSTA2, rGSTA3, rGSTM1, and rGSTM2 mRNA levels were also 50%-90% decreased at 12 hr after LPS treatment, with the relative change in rGSTA being greater than that in rGSTM. Three consecutive daily treatments with LPS (10 microg/kg/day) resulted in significant decreases of the constitutive and PZ (50 mg/kg/day, i.p. for 3 days)-inducible mEH and GST mRNA levels, which were consistent with those in the protein levels. Gel shift retardation analysis showed that LPS substantially activated the hepatic nuclear p65/p50 nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) complex with the maximal effect observed at 1 hr at the doses of 1 microg/kg or greater. LPS-induced activation of nuclear NF-kappaB (1 microg/kg, i.v.) failed to be inhibited by concomitant treatment with the mEH and GST inducers, including ADS (300 mg/kg, p.o.), OZ (300 mg/kg, p.o.), and PZ (300 mg/kg, i.p.), indicating that NF-kappaB activation was not required for suppression of the gene expression by LPS. In contrast, GdCl3, an inhibitor of mEH and GST expression, inhibited LPS-induced activation of the p65/p50 NF-kappaB. These gel shift analyses provided evidence that LPS-induced activation of the NF-kappaB was not responsible for alterations in the gene expression. In summary, the results of this research demonstrate that LPS effectively inhibits constitutive and inducible mEH and GST expression with decreases in their mRNA levels, and that LPS suppression in the expression of the detoxifying enzymes is not mediated with its activation of NF-kappaB.

Animals↗

Differential induction of rat hepatic microsomal epoxide hydrolase and rGSTA2 by diazines: the role of cytochrome P450 2E1-mediated metabolic activation.

Previous studies have shown that pyridazine (PD) and pyrazine (PZ) are efficacious in inducing microsomal epoxide hydrolase (mEH) in the liver with elevation of the mRNA level. The present study was designed to investigate the expression of mEH and rGSTA2 genes in response to the diazines including PD, PZ and pyrimidine (PM) and the basis for their enzyme induction. Rats treated with either PD or PZ for 3 days resulted in marked increases in mEH and rGSTA2 mRNA levels with concomitant induction of the proteins, whereas PM failed to elevate the mRNA levels. Treatment of rats with a single dose of PD or PZ showed dose-dependent increases in mEH and rGSTA2 mRNA levels at 24 h with ED50 values being approximately 10 mg/kg. Time-course studies showed that the mRNA levels were increased to maximal extents at 24-48 h after treatment. Studies were extended to assess the mechanistic basis for the enzyme induction by PD and PZ. beta-Naphthoflavone (BNF) caused a 6-fold increase of rGSTA2 mRNA in the liver (100 mg/kg per day, p.o., 3 days), as compared to control, whereas the agent failed to increase mEH mRNA level. Administration of PD or PZ (50 mg/kg) to BNF-pretreated rats resulted in no enhanced increase of the mEH mRNA as compared to the individual treatment, while the rGSTA2 mRNA level was additively elevated, suggesting the possibility that increases of the mEH and rGSTA2 mRNAs by PD or PZ might be mediated with antioxidant responsive element(s) in the genes, but not with xenobiotic responsive element. Western blot analysis revealed that cytochrome P450 2E1 was induced 3- to 4-fold by both PD and PZ, whereas PM failed to induce P450 2E1. Concomitant treatment of rats with PD or PZ in combination with acetone, a substrate for P450 2E1, caused no significant increase in the mEH and rGSTA2 mRNA levels relative to that in untreated animals, whereas PD or PZ treatment without a concomitant acetone administration resulted in marked increases of the mRNAs. Diazine-inducible mEH and rGSTA2 mRNA levels were approximately 2-fold enhanced in P450 2E1-induced starved rats, as compared to those in diazine-treated unstarved animals. These data indicate that P450 2E1-mediated bioactivation of the diazines might contribute to transcriptional activation of the mEH and GST genes. These results provide evidence that both PD and PZ efficaciously induce mEH and rGSTA2 in the liver with increases in the mRNA levels, while PM is ineffective, and that induction of mEH and rGSTA2 may be mediated through bioactivation of the diazines by P450 2E1.

Acetone↗