The formation of uridine diphosphate-glucuronic acid in plants. Uridine diphosphate-glucuronic acid pyrophosphorylase from barley seedlings.
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Vitamin C synthesis in rat liver is enhanced by several xenobiotics, including aminopyrine and chloretone. The effect of these agents has been linked to induction of enzymes potentially involved in the formation of glucuronate, a precursor of vitamin C. Using isolated rat hepatocytes as a model, we show that a series of agents (aminopyrine, antipyrine, chloretone, clotrimazole, metyrapone, proadifen, and barbital) induced in a few minutes an up to 15-fold increase in the formation of glucuronate, which was best observed in the presence of sorbinil, an inhibitor of glucuronate reductase. They also caused an approximately 2-fold decrease in the concentration of UDP-glucuronate but little if any change in the concentration of UDP-glucose. Depletion of UDP-glucuronate with resorcinol or d-galactosamine markedly decreased the formation of glucuronate both in the presence and in the absence of aminopyrine, confirming the precursor-product relationship between UDP-glucuronate and free glucuronate. Most of the agents did not induce the formation of detectable amounts of glucuronides, indicating that the formation of glucuronate is not due to a glucuronidation-deglucuronidation cycle. With the exception of barbital (which inhibits glucuronate reductase), all of the above mentioned agents also caused an increase in the concentration of ascorbic acid. They had little effect on glutathione concentration, and their effect on glucuronate and vitamin C formation was not mimicked by glutathione-depleting agents such as diamide and buthionine sulfoximine. It is concluded that the stimulation of vitamin C synthesis exerted by some xenobiotics is mediated through a rapid increase in the conversion of UDP-glucuronate to glucuronate, which does not apparently involve a glucuronidation-deglucuronidation cycle.
Salicylamide, clofibric acid, valproic acid and chloramphenicol are all known to be glucuronidated. The effects of these compounds on the hepatic concentration of UDP-glucuronic acid, the cosubstrate for glucuronidation, were studied in mice and found to lower hepatic UDP-glucuronic acid in a dose- and time-dependent fashion. Valproic acid, chloramphenicol, salicylamide and clofibric acid depleted hepatic UDP-glucuronic acid significantly at dosages as low as 0.5, 0.5, 0.75 and 4.0 mmol/kg, respectively. Hepatic UDP-glucuronic acid was decreased by 90% by valproic acid, 91% by chloramphenicol, 98% by salicylamide and 41% by clofibric acid (after dosages of 4, 2, 1 and 5 mmol/kg, respectively). UDP-glucuronic acid was depleted maximally by 15 after drug administration. Salicylamide also was used as a model compound to study the effect of drug loading on the hepatic concentrations of UDP-glucose and glycogen, precursors of UDP-glucuronic acid. It was found that, in addition to UDP-glucuronic acid, salicylamide (4 mmol/kg) also depleted UDP-glucose and glycogen by about 50%. These data suggest that large drug loads cause an increase flux through the glucuronic acid pathway and that hepatic UDP-glucuronic acid is consumed more rapidly than it is produced.
Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) is a drug of abuse. Literature studies showed that D-glucuronate acts as an oxidative stimulator of GHB metabolism following in vivo GHB tracer doses. The present proof-of-concept study investigates if D-glucuronate enhances GHB metabolism and inhibits blood-brain barrier (BBB) carrier-mediated transport of GHB for clinically relevant and toxicological concentrations of GHB. In a randomized cross-over study with a 3 day washout period, rats were intravenously administered GHB (200, 400 or 800 mg/kg) with either saline or D-glucuronate (830 mg/kg i.v. bolus followed by a constant infusion of 1.39 g/kg-h). Systemic and renal GHB pharmacokinetics, as well as onset, offset and duration of GHB sedative/hypnotic effects were measured following each GHB dose. In situ brain perfusion was used to determine if D-glucuronate inhibited GHB BBB transport. D-Glucuronate did not alter GHB sedative/hypnotic effects at all three GHB doses. A model independent approach revealed that GHB systemic (AUC, CL(Total), CL(Metabolism), V(SS), T(1/2)) and renal (CL(Renal), f(e)) pharmacokinetic parameters were unaltered by D-glucuronate administration. GHB influx clearance was unaltered by D-glucuronate suggesting a lack of transport inhibition. These observations suggest that although previously shown to be promising at GHB tracer doses, D-glucuronate lacks therapeutic benefit in the treatment of GHB toxicity.
Large, rapid decreases in hepatic UDP-glucuronic acid concentrations occur in rats following exposure to myriad chemicals. In fact, 80% reductions in UDP-glucuronic acid occur within minutes after exposure to inhalation anesthetics. The present study was designed to determine whether this decrease in hepatic UDP-glucuronic acid may be due to (a) a decrease in the precursor UDP-glucose; (b) decreased activity of UDP-glucose dehydrogenase, which oxidizes UDP-glucose to UDP-glucuronic acid; (c) increased activity of UDP-glucuronosyltransferases; or (d) increased activity of nucleotide pryophosphatase, which degrades UDP-glucuronic acid to glucuronic acid-1-phosphate. Exposure to halothane, isoflurane and sevoflurane decreased UDP-glucuronic acid concentrations by 40-52% as compared to that in unanesthetized control mice. No sex-dependent or anesthetic-induced effects of UDP-glucose levels and the activities of UDP-glucose dehydrogenase and UDP-glucuronosyltransferase were observed. Nucleotide pyrophosphatase activity was increased by 47-65% in female mice after inhalation of halothane, isoflurane and sevoflurane. The apparent Vmax for hydrolysis of 4-nitrophenol thymidine 5'-monophosphate ester by nucleotide pyrophosphatase was increased by 56-80% in female mice, whereas the apparent Km was unchanged. These alterations in nucleotide pyrophosphate kinetics may be responsible, in part, for the marked decrease of hepatic UDP-glucuronic acid concentrations by the volatile anesthetics.
Acetaminophen (AA) glucuronidation is capacity limited in several species after administration of high doses and previous data indicate that this phenomenon is due probably to a decrease in the concentration of the reaction cosubstrate UDP-glucuronic acid in liver. The rate-limiting determinant in UDP-glucuronic acid synthesis during AA glucuronidation is not known. The objective of the present study was to determine whether UDP-glucuronic acid synthesis during AA biotransformation is restricted by the supply of UDP-glucose or is limited by UDP-glucose dehydrogenase activity. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were injected with 600 mg/kg i.p of AA and liver was obtained 30, 60, 120 and 240 min later for quantitation of UDP-glucose, glycogen and UDP-glucuronic acid. AA was found to decrease markedly UDP-glucuronic acid concentration in liver 30, 60 and 120 min after injection (28, 52 and 58% of control values, respectively). In contrast, hepatic UDP-glucose levels were not altered after 30 min, but were decreased to 55 and 68% of control values 60 and 120 min after AA administration. Glycogen concentrations were decreased at the 30-min time interval only (78% of control). Therefore, maximal depletion of UDP-glucuronic acid occurred when UDP-glucose levels were not affected. UDP-glucose dehydrogenase is subject to product inhibition by NADH and UDP-glucuronic acid and it is possible that NADH accumulates during rapid utilization of UDP-glucuronic acid. Consequently, the effects of AA on cytosolic NADH/NAD ratios in liver were examined by determining the lactate/pyruvate ratio.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Hepatic synthesis rates of UDP-glucose and UDP-glucuronic acid were determined in rats. Two high pressure liquid chromatographic methods were developed to quantitate and isolate UTP, UDP-glucose, and UDP-glucuronic acid from perchloric acid extracts of rat liver. The specific activities of UTP, UDP-glucose, and UDP-glucuronic acid were determined in liver samples obtained from rats killed by cervical dislocation at various times after [6-14C]orotic acid administration. Synthesis rates were calculated from the rate of change in specific activities of the compound of interest and its immediate precursor and the concentration of the compound of interest. Synthesis rates of UDP-glucose and UDP-glucuronic acid were 102 +/- 9 and 99 +/- 1 nmol X min-1 X g of liver-1, respectively. UDP-glucuronic acid synthesis apparently accounts for most of the UDP-glucose produced during a period (8 a.m.-10 a.m.) when glycogen synthesis is low. The effect of an ethionine-induced reduction of energy state on these basal synthesis rates was examined. UDP-Glucose and UDP-glucuronic acid synthesis rates were decreased by approximately 80%. In summary, the hepatic synthesis rates of UDP-glucose and UDP-glucuronic acid are approximately 100 nmol X min-1 X g of liver-1, and a reduced energy state can decrease these synthesis rates in vivo.
UDP-D-glucuronic acid and UDP-D-xylose are required for the biosynthesis of glycosaminoglycan in mammals and of cell wall polysaccharides in plants. Given the importance of these glycans to some organisms, the development of a system for production of UDP-D-glucuronic acid and UDP-D-xylose from a common precursor could prove useful for a number of applications. The budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae lacks an endogenous ability to synthesize or consume UDP-D-glucuronic acid and UDP-D-xylose. However, yeast have a large cytoplasmic pool of UDP-D-glucose that could be used to synthesize cell wall beta-glucan, as a precursor of UDP-D-glucuronic acid and UDP-D-xylose. Thus, if a mechanism for converting the precursors into the end-products can be identified, yeast may be harnessed as a system for production of glycans. Here we report a novel S. cerevisiae strain that coexpresses the Arabidopsis thaliana genes UGD1 and UXS3, which encode a UDP-glucose dehydrogenase (AtUGD1) and a UDP-glucuronic acid decarboxylase (AtUXS3), respectively, which are required for the conversion of UDP-D-glucose to UDP-D-xylose in plants. The recombinant yeast strain was capable of converting UDP-D-glucose to UDP-D-glucuronic acid, and UDP-D-glucuronic acid to UDP-D-xylose, in the cytoplasm, demonstrating the usefulness of this yeast system for the synthesis of glycans. Furthermore, we observed that overexpression of AtUGD1 caused a reduction in the UDP-D-glucose pool, whereas coexpression of AtUXS3 and AtUGD1 did not result in reduction of the UDP-D-glucose pool. Enzymatic analysis of the purified hexamer His-AtUGD1 revealed that AtUGD1 activity is strongly inhibited by UDP-D-xylose, suggesting that AtUGD1 maintains intracellular levels of UDP-D-glucose in cooperation with AtUXS3 via the inhibition of AtUGD1 by UDP-D-xylose.
The transport of glucuronides synthesized in the luminal compartment of the endoplasmic reticulum by UDP-glucuronosyltransferase isoenzymes was studied in rat liver microsomal vesicles. Microsomal vesicles were loaded with p-nitrophenol glucuronide (5 mM), phenolphthalein glucuronide or UDP-glucuronic acid, by a freeze-thawing method. In was shown that: (i) the loading procedure resulted in millimolar intravesicular concentrations of the different loading compounds; (ii) addition of UDP-glucuronic acid (5 mM) to the vesicles released both intravesicular glucuronides within 1 min; (iii) glucuronides stimulated the release of UDP-glucuronic acid from UDP acid-loaded microsomal vesicles; (iv) trans-stimulation of UDP-glucuronic acid entry by loading of microsomal vesicles with p-nitrophenol glucuronide, phenolphthalein glucuronide, UDP-glucuronic acid and UDP-N-acetyl-glucosamine almost completely abolished the latency of UDP-glucuronosyltransferase, although mannose 6-phosphatase latency remained unaltered; (v) the loading compounds by themselves did not stimulate UDP-glucuronosyltransferase activity. This study indicates that glucuronides synthesized in the lumen of endoplasmic reticulum can leave by an antiport, which concurrently transports USP-glucuronic acid into the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum.