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5-Methylcytosine depletion during tumour development: an extension of the miscoding concept.

We propose a general model for neoplastic development which postulates that the loss of methyl groups from 5-methylcytosines (5-mC) involved in the control of gene expression may initiate neoplastic transformation and give rise to the aberrant phenotype of the transformed cell. Interference with normal patterns of methylation can be envisioned to occur by a number of mechanisms: as a result of carcinogen-induced G:C leads to A:T transition leading to a loss of potentially methylatable cytosines; by mutations or chromosome rearrangement which disrupt the integrity of active DNA methylase genes; by separating methylated repressor regions of the genome from the genes they control; by direct interference with DNA methylation, as proposed for ethionine and 5-azacytidine; by spontaneous deamination of 5-mC to thymine, leading to accumulation of 5-mC:G leads to T:A transitions, by virus-induced perturbations in host cell methylation patterns; and by activation of DNA demethylases.

5-Methylcytosine↗

Choline loss during hemodialysis: homeostatic control of plasma choline concentrations.

Endogenous concentrations of free choline in plasma were measured in azotemic subjects receiving repetitive hemodialysis and excretion of free choline into the dialysate was determined. Chemical choline in plasma and dialysate was measured by adding choline kinase and measuring the production of radiolabelled phosphorycholine in the presence of radiolabelled adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mean free choline concentration in plasma of azotemic subjects receiving hemodialysis was found to be 37 muM, which is about twice that of normal persons. The total excretion of choline into the dialysate during 360 min averaged 730 mumoles +/- 69 (SEM). Levels of free choline in plasma fell during hemodialysis at two hours but recovered toward predialysis values at six hours. The return of plasma choline concentrations toward control values during dialysis suggests that a feedback mechanism exists which was activated rapidly to produce homeostasis of plasma choline concentrations. In these patients, the degree of peripheral neuropathy as judged by measurement of nerve conduction velocities showed a significant inverse correlation with levels of free choline in plasma.

Blood Flow Velocity↗

c-myc gene amplification during hepatocarcinogenesis by a choline-devoid diet.

Liver tumors arise in rats fed a choline-devoid diet without added carcinogens. We found amplification of the c-myc gene in 13/13 of these tumors. The amplification ranged from 2- to 70-fold and was accompanied by an increase in c-myc gene expression. Amplification of c-myc was larger in tumors of rats fed a choline-devoid diet followed by a choline-supplemented diet than in tumors from animals fed a choline-devoid diet exclusively. In the former animals, low levels of c-myc gene amplification were also detected in nontumorous regions of tumor-bearing livers. The choline-devoid diet provides an in vivo experimental model for the induction of gene amplification in the rat liver. In this setting, amplification of the c-myc gene may be an early and critical event in carcinogenesis.

Animals↗

Adipocyte-specific gene expression and adipogenic steatosis in the mouse liver due to peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma1 (PPARgamma1) overexpression.

Peroxisome proliferator activated-receptor (PPAR) isoforms, alpha and gamma, function as important coregulators of energy (lipid) homeostasis. PPARalpha regulates fatty acid oxidation primarily in liver and to a lesser extent in adipose tissue, whereas PPARgamma serves as a key regulator of adipocyte differentiation and lipid storage. Of the two PPARgamma isoforms, PPARgamma1 and PPARgamma2 generated by alternative splicing, PPARgamma1 isoform is expressed in liver and other tissues, whereas PPARgamma2 isoform is expressed exclusively in adipose tissue where it regulates adipogenesis and lipogenesis. Since the function of PPARgamma1 in liver is not clear, we have, in this study, investigated the biological impact of overexpression of PPARgamma1 in mouse liver. Adenovirus-PPARgamma1 injected into the tail vein induced hepatic steatosis in PPARalpha(-/-) mice. Northern blotting and gene expression profiling results showed that adipocyte-specific genes and lipogenesis-related genes are highly induced in PPARalpha(-/-) livers with PPARgamma1 overexpression. These include adipsin, adiponectin, aP2, caveolin-1, fasting-induced adipose factor, fat-specific gene 27 (FSP27), CD36, Delta(9) desaturase, and malic enzyme among others, implying adipogenic transformation of hepatocytes. Of interest is that hepatic steatosis per se, induced either by feeding a diet deficient in choline or developing in fasted PPARalpha(-/-) mice, failed to induce the expression of these PPARgamma-regulated adipogenesis-related genes in steatotic liver. These results suggest that a high level of PPARgamma in mouse liver is sufficient for the induction of adipogenic transformation of hepatocytes with adipose tissue-specific gene expression and lipid accumulation. We conclude that excess PPARgamma activity can lead to the development of a novel type of adipogenic hepatic steatosis.

Adipocytes↗

ApoA-I lipidation in primary mouse hepatocytes. Separate controls for phospholipid and cholesterol transfers.

The liver is the major site of both apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) synthesis and ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) expression. Here, we compare the lipidation with cholesterol and phospholipid of newly synthesized human apoA-I (hapoA-I) using adenoviral vector-mediated endogenous expression or exogenously added hapoA-I in wild type and ABCA1-null hepatocytes. Hepatocytes were labeled with [3H]cholesterol (delivered with LDL or methyl-beta-cyclodextrin), [3H]mevalonate, or [3H]choline. ABCA1 deficiency decreased apoA-I phospholipidation by 80%, but acquisition of de novo synthesized and exogenous cholesterol only decreased by 40-60%. The transfer of de novo synthesized cholesterol to apoA-I was decreased at all time points, but that of exogenously delivered cholesterol was independent of ABCA1 activity at the early time points. Progesterone does not affect apoA-I synthesis or its lipidation but inhibited the early phase of apoA-I cholesterol lipidation in both wild type and ABCA1-null hepatocytes. Fast protein liquid chromatography analysis of medium lipoproteins confirmed that with ABCA1 deficiency, the proportion of secreted high density lipoprotein-associated apoA-I and cholesterol decreased by about 50%. The very low density lipoprotein (VLDL)/LDL size fraction also contained a significant level of cholesterol in ABCA1 deficiency, consistent with the result of immunoprecipitations showing the presence of lipoproteins with both apoA-I and murine apoB. ApoA-I lipidation with newly synthesized cholesterol in ABCA1-null hepatocytes was significantly decreased by brefeldin A and monensin. In conclusion, we demonstrate that: (i) whereas most hepatic phospholipidation of apoA-I is mediated by ABCA1, acquisition of cholesterol depends on active transfer from intracellular compartments by ABCA1-dependent and -independent pathways, both sensitive to progesterone and (ii) there is separate regulation of phospholipid and cholesterol lipidation of apoA-I in hepatocytes.

ATP Binding Cassette Transporter 1↗

Choline: needed for normal development of memory.

Choline is a dietary component essential for normal function of all cells. It, or its metabolites, assures the structural integrity and signaling functions of cell membranes; it is the major source of methyl-groups in the diet (one of choline's metabolites, betaine, participates in the methylation of homocysteine to form methionine); and it directly affects nerve signaling, cell signaling and lipid transport/metabolism. In 1998, the National Academy of Sciences, USA, issued a report identifying choline as a required nutrient for humans and recommended daily intake amounts. Eggs are an excellent dietary source of choline. Pregnancy and lactation are periods when maternal reserves of choline are depleted. At the same time, the availability of choline for normal development of the brain is critical. When rat pups received choline supplements (in utero or during the second week of life), their brain function changed, resulting in the lifelong memory enhancement. This change in memory function appears to be due to changes in the development of the memory center (hippocampus) in the brain. The mother's dietary choline during a critical period in brain development of her infant influences the rate of birth and death of nerve cells in this center. These changes are so important that we can pick out the groups of animals whose mothers had extra choline even when these animals are elderly. Thus, memory function in the aged rat is, in part, determined by what the mother ate. This is not the first example of a critical nutrient that must be present at a specific time in brain development. If folate isn't available in the first few weeks of pregnancy, the brain does not form normally. Thus, we suggest that pregnancy is a period when special attention has to be paid to dietary intake.

Animals↗

SOCS1 is a suppressor of liver fibrosis and hepatitis-induced carcinogenesis.

Hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) mainly develop from liver cirrhosis and severe liver fibrosis that are established with long-lasting inflammation of the liver. Silencing of the suppressor of the cytokine signaling-1 (SOCS1) gene, a negative regulator of cytokine signaling, by DNA methylation has been implicated in development or progress of HCC. However, how SOCS1 contributes to HCC is unknown. We examined SOCS1 gene methylation in >200 patients with chronic liver disease and found that the severity of liver fibrosis is strongly correlated with SOCS1 gene methylation. In murine liver fibrosis models using dimethylnitrosamine, mice with haploinsufficiency of the SOCS1 gene (SOCS1(-/+) mice) developed more severe liver fibrosis than did wild-type littermates (SOCS1(+/+) mice). Moreover, carcinogen-induced HCC development was also enhanced by heterozygous deletion of the SOCS1 gene. These findings suggest that SOCS1 contributes to protection against hepatic injury and fibrosis, and may also protect against hepatocarcinogenesis.

Animals↗

Reduced accumulation of I-compounds in liver DNA of rats fed a choline-devoid diet.

Groups of rats were fed for 1, 4 or 7 months choline-devoid or choline-supplemented diets, that provided approximately 50% of the methionine, and 0.15% or 150% of the choline requirements of young, growing rats. Liver DNA was isolated and analyzed by the nuclease P1-enhanced version of the 32P-postlabeling assay, which detects aromatic/hydrophobic DNA adducts and I-compounds (adduct-like DNA modifications shown to accumulate in tissue of aging rats). DNA adducts and qualitative differences in the patterns of I-compounds were not observed in rats fed the two diets. However, in rats fed the choline-devoid diet there was a drastic reduction in the accumulation of I-compounds, compared with that in rats fed the control diet. These results extend previous evidence of a lack of relevant DNA adducts in the liver of rats fed the choline-devoid diet, and suggest the possibility of a role of I-compounds in the carcinogenicity of this diet.

Animals↗

Is 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine a mediator of carcinogenesis by a choline-devoid diet in the rat liver?

The mechanism(s) by which a diet devoid of choline (CD) induces hepatocellular carcinomas in rats remains unknown. Although animals fed this diet develop nuclear lipid peroxidation, suggesting oxidative DNA damage, there is no direct evidence that this occurs. In this study, 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), a DNA adduct generated by reactive oxygen species, was analyzed in the liver of rats fed a CD diet and in controls receiving a choline-sufficient (CS) diet. After partial hepatectomy, the animals were injected with diethylnitrosamine (DEN, 50 mg/kg body wt) or with saline and fed a CD or CS diet for 24 weeks. While liver DNA from rats injected either with DEN or saline and fed a CS diet did not show detectable amounts of the nucleotide, those who were fed DEN/CD and saline/CD demonstrated similar, easily measurable levels of 8-OHdG. These results indicate that there is a positive association between the continuous administration of a CD diet and the production of 8-OHdG in liver DNA, and support the idea that oxidative DNA damage is involved in carcinogenesis by a CD diet.

8-Hydroxy-2'-Deoxyguanosine↗

Lack of hepatocarcinogenic potential of acetaminophen in rats with liver damage associated with a choline-devoid diet.

The potential carcinogenic activity of acetaminophen (paracetamol, APAP) was studied in male F344 rats with pre-existing liver damage induced by a choline-devoid (CD) diet. In a short-term experiment, APAP was administered by intragastric intubation as single doses of 0.5-1.5 g/kg body wt after 4 weeks feeding of CD diet had produced fatty livers in rats. Two-thirds partial hepatectomy was performed 4 h subsequent to the initiating treatment step. After a 2 week recovery period, all rats were subjected to the selection procedure of Cayama et al. and killed at week 9 of the experiment. Quantitative analysis of placental form glutathione S-transferase (GST-P)-positive liver lesion development did not reveal any enhancement by APAP, whereas administration of a non-necrogenic dose of diethylnitrosamine (20 mg/kg body wt) in the same protocol demonstrated significant promotion, confirming the utility of the model for detection of weak carcinogenicity of chemicals. In the second long-term experiment, APAP was fed at doses of 0.45 and 0.9% for 25 weeks following 27 weeks administration of CD diet which produced liver cirrhosis in the rats. Despite a slight enhancement of focal liver lesions positive for gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT), no significant promotion of GST-P-positive altered foci or nodules was observed. In contrast, continuous feeding of CD diet or 0.5% phenobarbital treatment after generation of cirrhosis with CD diet clearly enhanced the induction of both GST-P and GGT-positive liver lesions. Thus, these results indicate that APAP does not possess significant carcinogenic activity in damaged rat liver.

Acetaminophen↗