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Biomedical subjects

T Green

Publications and source records attributed to T Green.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

The effect of cilazapril on systolic and diastolic cardiac function in hypertensive patients.

Diastolic function may be impaired in hypertensives even before alterations occur in systolic function. We studied the effect of a single dose of cilazapril, 5 mg orally, on systolic and diastolic cardiac function in 20 hypertensive patients using a double-blind crossover placebo controlled design. All patients had mild to moderate concentric left ventricular hypertrophy, preserved systolic function and long standing hypertension (for a period of 11.9 +/- 9.0 years). Radionuclide scintigraphy was performed with cilazapril and placebo, given one week apart. A two-week washout period of all cardioactive drugs preceded the study. Within one hour of oral administration of cilazapril blood pressure was significantly lowered. The absolute time to peak filling rate of the left ventricle, as well as the time to peak filling rate expressed as a percentage of diastole, were reduced from 176 +/- 34 to 158 +/- 33 msec (P less than 0.01) and from 46 +/- 10% to 37 +/- 8% (P less than 0.02) (reduction by 9% and 18.4%, respectively). Heart rate, left and right ventricular ejection fraction and peak filling rate was not significantly altered. Placebo had no significant effect. The effect of cilazapril is most probably related to afterload reduction. In conclusion; cilazapril seems to improve diastolic cardiac function in hypertensive patients. Long-term therapy may result in improvement of other, less sensitive indices of diastolic dysfunction.

Administration, Oral↗

Macromolecular interactions of inhaled methylene chloride in rats and mice.

The in vivo interaction of methylene chloride and its metabolites with F344 rat and B6C3F1 mouse lung and liver DNA was measured after inhalation exposure to 4000 ppm [14C]methylene chloride for 3 hr. DNA was isolated from the tissues 6, 12, and 24 hr after the start of exposure and analyzed for total radioactivity and the distribution of radioactivity within enzymatically hydrolyzed DNA samples. Covalent binding to hepatic protein was also measured. A further group of rats and mice were dosed intravenously with [14C]formate after exposure to nonradiolabeled methylene chloride for 3 hr to determine the pattern of labeling resulting from incorporation of formate into DNA via the C-1 pool. Low levels of radioactivity were found in DNA from lungs and livers of both rats and mice exposed to [14C]methylene chloride. Two- to fourfold higher levels were found in mouse DNA and protein than in rat. Chromatographic analysis of the DNA nucleosides showed the radioactivity to be associated with the normal constituents of DNA. No peaks of radioactivity were found that did not coincide with peaks of radioactivity present in hydrolyzed DNA from formate-treated rats and mice. Under the conditions of this study there was no evidence for alkylation of DNA by methylene chloride in either rats or mice.

Administration, Inhalation↗

The role of trichloracetic acid and peroxisome proliferation in the differences in carcinogenicity of perchloroethylene in the mouse and rat.

Fischer 344 rats and B6C3F1 mice of both sexes were exposed to 400 ppm perchloroethylene (PER) by inhalation, 6 hr/day for 14, 21, or 28 days or to 200 ppm for 28 days. Increased numbers of peroxisomes were seen under the electron microscope and increased peroxisomal cyanide-insensitive palmitoyl CoA oxidation was measured (3.6-fold increase in males and 2.1-fold increase in females) in the livers of mice exposed to PER. Hepatic catalase was not increased. Peroxisome proliferation was not observed in rat liver or in the kidneys of either species. Trichloracetic acid (TCA), a known carcinogen and hepatic peroxisome proliferating agent, was found to be a major metabolite of PER. Blood levels of this metabolite measured in mice and rats during and for 48 hr after a single 6-hr exposure to 400 ppm PER showed that peak blood levels in mice were 13 times higher than those seen in rats. Comparison of areas under the curves over the time course of the experiment showed that mice were exposed to 6.7 times more TCA than rats. The difference in metabolism of PER to TCA in mice and rats leads to the species difference in hepatic peroxisome proliferation which is believed to be the basis of the species difference in hepatocarcinogenicity. Peroxisome proliferation does not appear to play a role in the apparent carcinogenicity of PER in the rat kidney.

Administration, Inhalation↗

Characterization of the peptidergic afferent innervation of the stomach in the rat, mouse and guinea-pig.

Retrograde tracing of the fluorescent marker, True Blue, has been used together with immunohistochemistry employing antibodies to substance P, calcitonin gene-related peptide, somatostatin, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide and morphine-modulating peptide to study the afferent innervation of the stomach in rat, mouse and guinea-pig. Up to 85% of spinal afferents to the stomach in all three species contained immunoreactive calcitonin gene-related peptide, and up to 50% contained substance P. In all three species less than 10% of vagal afferents to the stomach reacted with antibodies to calcitonin gene-related peptide, or substance P. Cacitonin gene-related peptide-immunoreactive fibres were found in the myenteric plexus, circular muscle and around submucosal blood vessels in the stomach. In the rat, removal of the coeliac ganglion, splanchnic nerve section, or capsaicin treatment virtually abolished calcitonin gene-related peptide immunoreactivity in the stomach. Capsaicin and splanchnic section also abolished the staining of immunoreactive calcitonin gene-related peptide fibres in the coeliac ganglion. The same treatments abolished substance P staining of fibres around submucosal blood vessels, but in the myenteric plexus and circular smooth muscle there were still abundant immunoreactive fibres, presumably arising from intrinsic cell bodies. No somatostatin-containing visceral afferents could be found, although somatostatin was localized to cell bodies in rat dorsal root ganglia. Immunoreactive vasoactive intestinal polypeptide-containing dorsal root ganglia neurons were not found; although antibodies to morphine-modulatory peptide revealed immunoreactive nerve cell bodies, we were unable to exclude the possibility that this result is attributable to cross reactivity with calcitonin gene-related peptide. These results provide direct evidence that calcitonin gene-related peptide is a marker for a major subset of visceral primary afferent neurons and suggest that this population of spinal afferents makes a major contribution to the total gastric content of calcitonin gene-related peptide.

Afferent Pathways↗

Calcitonin gene-related peptide in visceral afferent nerve fibres: quantification by radioimmunoassay and determination of axonal transport rates.

An antibody specific for the C-terminus of rat alpha calcitonin gene-related peptide has been used in radioimmunoassay to measure concentrations of immunoreactive peptide in the upper gastrointestinal tract of capsaicin-treated and coeliac ganglionectomized rats, and to measure axonal transport velocities in the vagus and splanchnic nerves. In adult rats that had been treated soon after birth with capsaicin, immunoreactive calcitonin gene-related peptide in the stomach and duodenum was undetectable (less than 0.1 pmol/g) compared with 4-10 pmol/g in control rats. Removal of the coeliac ganglion also reduced concentrations of immunoreactive calcitonin gene-related peptide by 5-fold, but Leu-enkephalin and Met-enkephalin Arg6Gly7Leu8-immunoreactivities (which are thought to occur in intrinsic gut neurons) were unchanged by coeliac ganglionectomy. Concentrations of calcitonin gene-related peptide immunoreactivity in coeliac ganglia were depressed by 90% in capsaicin-treated rats but concentrations of opioid peptide immunoreactivity were similar to control. The results suggest calcitonin gene-related peptide-immunoreactivity in the upper gastrointestinal tract in the rat is predominantly of extrinsic afferent origin. Chromatographic separation on Sephadex G50, or high-performance liquid chromatography revealed that the major immunoreactive form in stomach extracts corresponded to intact calcitonin gene-related peptide, although there was evidence of smaller, less hydrophobic C-terminal fragments. Direct evidence of transport of calcitonin gene-related peptide toward the gut was obtained by ligation of the cervical vagus and greater splanchnic nerves. There was accumulation on the central side of ligatures, which suggested axonal transport velocities in the vagus of about 1.5 mm/h and 0.7 mm/h in splanchnic nerves.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

Action of the cholecystokinin antagonist L364,718 on gastric emptying in the rat.

Cholecystokinin (CCK) is a potent inhibitor of gastric emptying. We have examined the effects of a novel potent peripheral CCK receptor antagonist (L364,718) on the action of endogenous and exogenous CCK octapeptide (CCK-8) on gastric emptying in the rat. In conscious gastric fistula rats, the recovery of liquid test meals of 3.0 ml (containing phenol red as a dilution marker) was determined over periods up to 8 min. Compared with saline, gastric emptying of solutions of peptone (4.5%), 50 mM HCl, and hyperosmolal saline was significantly delayed. The emptying of saline was also delayed by intravenous infusion of CCK-8 (400 pmol.kg-1.h-1). The CCK antagonist L364,718 reversed the effect of peptone in a dose-dependent manner and inhibited the response to exogenous CCK, but the emptying of physiological saline, 50 mM HCl, or hyperosmolal saline remained unchanged. A protease inhibitor (FOY-305) that is thought to release endogenous CCK by inhibiting negative feedback control by luminal proteases also delayed emptying, and this response was inhibited by L364,718. We conclude that CCK has a physiological role in the mediation of the effect of proteins on gastric emptying in the rat.

Animals↗

Calcitonin gene-related peptide and substance P in afferents to the upper gastrointestinal tract in the rat.

Combined immunohistochemistry and retrograde tracing was used to investigate the origin of the sensory calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) innervation of the rat stomach. Up to 85% of spinal gastric afferents (T6-L1) contained CGRP immunoreactivity compared with less than 6% of vagal gastric afferents. By comparison substance P immunoreactivity occurred in about 50% of spinal gastric afferents and less than 2% of vagal afferents. The vagal afferents to the oesophagus were 14 and 26% substance P- and CGRP-immunoreactive respectively. The results suggest an important role for CGRP in gastric spinal afferents.

Animals↗

Intracellular binding proteins for retinol and retinoic acid in early and term human placentas.

Specific binding of both [3H]retinol and [3H]retinoic acid was observed in the cytosol fraction from term placentas and specific binding of [3H]retinol but not [3H]retinoic acid was detected in the cytosol fraction from placentas of 8-12 week pregnancies. The elution volume of the bound radioactivity on Sephadex G-100 column chromatography was within the range expected for proteins of molecular weight 14 500, in agreement with the results of others for cellular retinol- and retinoic acid-binding proteins from other tissues. The role of these proteins in mediating the effects of vitamin A on growth and differentiation of the placenta and fetus has yet to be determined.

Carrier Proteins↗

Species differences in response to trichloroethylene. I. Pharmacokinetics in rats and mice.

The elimination of radioactivity in two strains of rats and mice following a single po dose of trichloro[14C]ethylene at dose levels from 10 to 2000 mg/kg has shown a marked dose dependence in rats but not in mice. The metabolism of trichloroethylene in the mouse was linear over the range of doses used, whereas in the rat it became constant and independent of dose at 1000 mg/kg and above. At the 10-mg/kg dosage, both species metabolized trichloroethylene almost completely, 60% of the dose being excreted in urine with only 1 to 4% being eliminated unchanged in expired air in the first 24 hr. At 2000 mg/kg, 78% of the dose was eliminated unchanged in the rat, but only 14% in the mouse. Consequently at high dosages, the mouse was exposed to significantly higher concentrations of trichloroethylene metabolites than the rat. Blood level kinetics of trichloroethylene and its metabolites confirmed a faster rate of metabolism in the mouse than in the rat. Peak concentrations of the metabolites were reached within 2 hr of dosing in the mouse compared to 10 to 12 hr in the rat. The concentrations of both trichloroethanol (4X) and trichloroacetic acid (7X) were significantly higher in the mouse than in the rat. Whereas trichloroethanol was rapidly eliminated from blood, the higher concentrations of trichloroacetic acid were maintained for over 30 hr. The high blood quantities of trichloroethylene-derived trichloroacetic acid are known to induce hepatic peroxisome proliferation in mice but are insufficient to induce this response in rats. These data suggest that trichloroacetic acid blood amounts, peroxisome proliferation, and the link between peroxisomes and liver cancer are the basis of species difference in response to trichloroethylene.

Animals↗

Species differences in response to trichloroethylene. II. Biotransformation in rats and mice.

Detailed analysis of urine from two strains of rats and mice dosed po with trichloroethylene at four doses from 10 to 2000 mg/kg failed to detect any major species or strain differences in the metabolism of trichloroethylene. Although a greater proportion of the dose was metabolized in mice than in rats, the relative proportions of the major metabolites were very similar in both strains and were unaffected by the dose amount. Analysis of the same urine samples for minor metabolites failed to establish a major species difference. Small amounts of dichloroacetic acid (less than 1% of the dose) were present in both rat and mouse urine and were not considered significant. Monochloroacetic acid accounted for less than 0.1% of the dose. Daily dosing of trichloroethylene (1000 mg/kg po) for 180 days did not induce the overall metabolism of trichloroethylene but did double the urinary excretion of trichloroacetic acid. This finding was accompanied by an equivalent percentage decrease in the concentration of trichloroethanol. CO2 has been shown to be a major metabolite of trichloroacetic acid, suggesting that this is the source of trichloroethylene-derived CO2. Trichloroacetic acid was also excreted in bile in both rats and mice suggesting possible conjugation of this metabolite in the liver. Very little evidence was found for the formation of chemically reactive species from trichloroethylene in either rats or mice and none that could be the basis of a major species difference. The increased rate of metabolism in the mouse, the resulting high blood concentrations of trichloroacetic acid, and stimulation of hepatic peroxisome proliferation in this species appears to be the major species difference possibly related to tumor formation in the liver. The conjugation of trichloroacetic acid and its metabolism to CO2 may be related to peroxisome proliferation.

Animals↗

Structure/activity studies of the nephrotoxic and mutagenic action of cysteine conjugates of chloro- and fluoroalkenes.

The cysteine conjugates of the nephrotoxins hexachlorobutadiene (HCBD), tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) and hexafluoropropene (HFP), together with those of trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene, have been chemically synthesized and a relationship determined between their structures and their nephrotoxicity and mutagenicity in vitro. All of the conjugates had a marked effect on the uptake of both the organic anion p-aminohippuric acid (PAH) and the cation tetraethylammonium bromide (TEA) into rat kidney slices, suggesting activation of the conjugates in the slices to a toxic species which interferes with ion transport. This observation is consistent with the known nephrotoxicity of HCBD, TFE and HFP in vivo. Each of the conjugates was found to be metabolised by rat kidney slices and by semi-purified rat kidney beta-lyase to pyruvate, ammonia and an unidentified reactive metabolite. When semi-purified beta-lyase was used stoichiometric amounts of pyruvate and ammonia were produced. Although all of the conjugates were activated by beta-lyase and had a similar effect on ion transport their mutagenicity differed markedly. The conjugates of HCBD, trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene were mutagenic in the Ames bacterial mutation assay when activated by rat kidney S9. Metabolic cofactors were not required suggesting that activation was due to the enzyme beta-lyase. In the same assay the conjugates of TFE and HFP were not mutagenic either in the presence or absence of rat kidney S9 and cofactors. With a limited number of cysteine conjugates a clear distinction has been identified between the conjugates of chloroalkenes which were were similarly nephrotoxic but were not mutagenic. The mutagenicity of the cysteine conjugate of HCBD is consistent with the known renal carcinogenicity of this chemical.

Alkenes↗

The metabolism and disposition of hexachloro-1:3-butadiene in the rat and its relevance to nephrotoxicity.

Following po administration of a nephrotoxic dose (200 mg/kg) of hexachloro-1:3-butadiene (HCBD) to male rats, the principal route of excretion was biliary, 17-20% of the dose being eliminated on each of the first 2 days. Fecal excretion over this period was less than 5% of the dose per day, suggesting enterohepatic recirculation of biliary metabolites. Urinary excretion was small, not exceeding 3.5% of the dose during any 24-hr period. The major biliary metabolite was a direct conjugate between glutathione and HCBD itself. The cysteinylglycine conjugate of HCBD has also been found in bile. Evidence was obtained to show that biliary metabolites of HCBD are reabsorbed and excreted via the kidneys. The glutathione conjugate, its mercapturic acid derivative, and bile containing HCBD metabolites were all nephrotoxic when dosed orally to rats. In common with HCBD, these metabolites caused localized damage to the kidney with minimal effects in the liver. Rats fitted with a biliary cannula were completely protected from kidney damage when dosed with HCBD, demonstrating that hepatic metabolites were solely responsible for the nephrotoxicity of this compound. It is proposed that the hepatic glutathione conjugate of HCBD was degraded to its equivalent cysteine conjugate which was cleaved by the renal cytosolic enzyme beta-lyase to give a toxic thiol which caused localized kidney damage. A urinary sulphenic acid metabolite of HCBD has been identified which is consistent with this hypothesis. The mode of activation of HCBD conjugates in the kidney is believed to be analogous to that proposed for S-(1,2-dichlorovinyl)-L-cysteine.

Animals↗

Human placental microvilli contain high-affinity binding sites for folate.

Uptake of [3H]pteroylglutamic acid [( 3H]PteGlu) was studied in microvilli isolated from the syncytiotrophoblast of the human term placenta. The effect of changes in medium osmolality on the equilibrium uptake of [3H]PteGlu was negligible, which suggested that the observed uptake represented binding to proteins on or within the microvilli rather than translocation of the vitamin from the incubation medium to a free state in the intravesicular fluid. Equilibrium uptake experiments performed over a wide range of [3H]PteGlu concentrations disclosed a class of binding sites with an association constant of 0.3 nM-1 as well as a second class of sites with high capacity and low affinity. Binding of [3H]PteGlu at the high-affinity sites was inhibited by tetrahydrofolate and N5-methyltetrahydrofolate, but not by several other structural analogues. It is likely that the high-affinity binding sites are receptors for maternal plasma folate; however, their role in placental transport or storage of the vitamin was not delineated in these studies.

Aminoisobutyric Acids↗

The metabolism and nephrotoxicity of tetrafluoroethylene in the rat.

Exposure of rats to 6000 ppm tetrafluoroethylene for 6 hr produced marked damage to the proximal tubule of the kidney with no effect on the liver. The toxicity was characterized by very high concentrations of urinary glucose and by marked increases in the concentrations of several urinary enzymes. The no observed effect level for a 6-hr exposure was 2000 ppm. Tetrafluoroethylene was metabolized to S-(1,1,2,2-tetrafluoroethyl)glutathione by rat liver fractions in vitro; the reaction was catalyzed by both microsomal and cytosolic glutathione S-transferases. The rate with microsomes was four times that with cytosol fractions. Evidence for this metabolic pathway in vivo has been obtained by the identification of the cysteinylglycine and cysteine conjugates of tetrafluoroethylene in rat bile. Cytochrome P-450 oxidation, a common metabolic route for haloalkenes, does not appear to occur in the metabolism of tetrafluoroethylene. When administered po to rats, the synthetic cysteine conjugate of tetrafluoroethylene causes renal damage identical to that caused by tetrafluoroethylene itself. The conjugate was metabolized by renal slices in vitro giving pyruvate, ammonia, and a reactive species which caused marked inhibition of organic ion transport into slices. Purified renal beta-lyase also cleaved this conjugate giving stoichiometric amounts of pyruvate and ammonia. The nephrotoxicity of tetrafluoroethylene is believed to derive from the hepatic glutathione conjugate of this compound. Following excretion and degradation of this conjugate in bile, the cysteine conjugate is reabsorbed and further metabolized in the kidney by the enzyme beta-lyase to a cytotoxic species.

Animals↗