Modulation of hepatic and renal alcohol dehydrogenase activity and mRNA by steroid hormones in vivo

Effects of renal diseases on the regulation and expression of renal and hepatic drug-metabolizing enzymes: a review

1. The activity of drug-metabolizing enzymes (DMEs) in extrahepatic organs is highest in the kidneys. Generally, the kidneys contain most, if not all, of the DMEs found in the liver. Surprisingly, some of these DMEs show higher activity in the kidneys than in the liver. 2. Most of the renal DMEs are localized in the cortex of the kidneys, especially in the proximal tubules. DMEs are also found in the distal tubules and collecting ducts. 3. Renal diseases such as acute and chronic renal failure and renal cell carcinoma alter the regulation of both hepatic and extrahepatic phase I and II DMEs. Changes in the expression of these DMEs seem to be tissue and species specific. 4. Generally, there is significant down-regulation of most of the phase I and a few of phase II DMEs at the protein, mRNA and activity levels. Unfortunately, the mechanisms leading to the alteration in DMEs in renal diseases remain unclear, although many theories have been made. 5. The presence of some circulating factors such as cytokines, nitric oxide, parathyroid hormones and increased intracellular calcium play a role in the regulation of DMEs in renal diseases.

Early Experience and Sex Interact to Influence Limbic-Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal-Axis Function After Acute Alcohol Administration in Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta)

BACKGROUND

Studies in rodents demonstrate sex differences in neuroendocrine stress axis activity after treatment with alcohol. In abstinent alcoholics, atypical depressives, and individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder, limbic-hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (LHPA)-axis activity is often blunted; among females in these patient populations, however, resistance to glucocorticoid feedback and increased pituitary reactivity is observed. Early parental loss is a major life stressor and is a risk factor for both affective disturbances and LHPA-axis abnormalities later in life. We wanted to determine whether sex and early life parental absence would interact to influence alcohol-induced alterations in LHPA-axis activity after exposure to ethanol in macaques.

METHODS

Animals were reared with their mothers in social groups (MR, n = 94) or without adults in peer-only groups (PR, n = 79). At 5 years of age, they received an intravenous infusion of alcohol (2-2.2 g/kg), and the effects of alcohol, sex, and rearing condition on ACTH and cortisol levels were analyzed by ANOVA.

RESULTS

Peer-reared females had higher ACTH levels than did PR males, MR females, and MR males after alcohol infusion. Alcohol-induced cortisol levels were not affected by sex and rearing condition.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that there are sex differences in glucocorticoid negative feedback, pituitary responsivity, or release of ACTH secretagogues among individuals exposed to early life stress and emphasize the importance of considering sex effects when studying LHPA-axis dysregulation in alcoholism and other stress-related neuropsychiatric disorders.