Induction of peroxisomal fatty acyl-CoA oxidase and microsomal laurate hydroxylase activities by beclobric acid and two metabolites in primary cultures of rat hepatocytes

Mechanistically-based human hazard assessment of peroxisome proliferator-induced hepatocarcinogenesis

In this review we have evaluated the relationship between peroxisome proliferation and hepatocarcinogenesis. To do so, we identified all chemicals known to produce peroxisome proliferation and selected those for which there are data (on peroxisome proliferation and hepatocarcinogenesis) which meet certain criteria chosen to facilitate comparison of these phenomena. The summarised data and definition of the methodology used has been collected in appendices. These comparisons enabled us to evaluate the relationship between these phenomena using reliable data. As there is a good correlation between them, we further explored the mechanisms of action that have been proposed (direct genotoxic activity, production of hydrogen peroxide, cell proliferation and receptor activation). The relationship between these events in other species, including humans, was also reviewed and finally an overview of the assessment of human hazard is presented in section IX. Some of the first chemicals which were shown to produce peroxisome proliferation were also hepatocarcinogens whose carcinogenicity could not be readily explained by genotoxic activity. This raised the suggestion that the unusual phenomenon of peroxisome proliferation was intricately linked to the carcinogenic activity of these agents. Three questions have exercised the attention of regulatory, industrial and academic toxicology since then; are chemicals which elicit peroxisome proliferation in the liver actually a coherent class of chemical carcinogens?; does the early biological phenomenon of peroxisome proliferation have real predictive value for and mechanistic association with rodent carcinogenesis?; and what hazard/risk do these agents pose to humans that may be exposed to them? Whether peroxisome proliferators are indeed a discrete class of rodent carcinogens would appear to be the single, most important question. If so, then the assumptions and procedures relevant to human hazard and risk assessment should be applied to the class and should be essentially generic; if not, each chemical should be considered independently. Our critical analysis of the published data for over 70 agents which have been shown to possess intrinsic ability to induce peroxisome proliferation in the livers of rodents has led to the conclusion that there exists a strong correlation between peroxisome proliferation as n early effect in the liver and hepatocarcinogenicity in chronic exposure studies. An almost perfect correlation was observed between the induction of peroxisomes in the rodent liver and the eventual appearance of tumours following chronic exposure The few exceptions to this were largely explainable (section II).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Hepatic peroxisome proliferation in rodents and its significance for humans

Peroxisomes are subcellular organelles found in all eukaryotic cells. In the liver they are usually round and measure about 0.5-1.0 microns; in rodents they contain a prominent crystalloid core, but this may be absent in newly formed rodent peroxisomes as well as in human peroxisomes. A major role of the peroxisomes is the breakdown of long-chain fatty acids, thereby complementing mitochondrial fatty-acid metabolism. Many chemicals are known to increase the number of peroxisomes in rat and mouse hepatocytes. This peroxisome proliferation is accompanied by replicative DNA synthesis and liver growth. No clear structure-activity relationships are apparent. Many of these peroxisome proliferators contain acid functions that can modulate fatty acid metabolism. Two mechanisms have been proposed for the induction of peroxisome proliferation. One is based on the existence of one or several specific cytosolic receptors that bind the peroxisome proliferator, facilitating its translocation to the cell nucleus and the activation of the expression of specific genes. The second, perhaps more general, hypothesis involves chemically mediated perturbation of lipid metabolism. These two hypotheses are not mutually exclusive. Many peroxisome proliferators have been shown to induce hepatocellular tumours, despite being uniformly non-genotoxic, when administered at high dose levels to rats and mice for long periods. Three mechanisms have been proposed to explain the induction of tumours. One is based on increased production of active oxygen species due to imbalanced production of peroxisomal enzymes; it has been proposed that these reactive oxygen species cause indirect DNA damage with subsequent tumour formation. In rodents, an alternative mechanism is the promotion of endogenous lesions by sustained DNA synthesis and hyperplasia. Thirdly, it is conceivable that sustained growth stimulation may be sufficient for tumour formation. Marked species differences are apparent in response to peroxisome proliferations. Rats and mice are extremely sensitive, and hamsters show an intermediate response while guinea pigs, monkeys and humans appear to be relatively insensitive or non-responsive at dose levels that produce a marked response in rodents. These species differences may be reproduced in vitro using primary culture hepatocytes isolated from a variety of species including humans. The available experimental evidence suggests a strong association and a probable casual link between peroxisome-proliferator-elicited liver growth and the subsequent development of liver tumours in rats and mice. Since humans are insensitive or unresponsive, at therapeutic dose levels, to peroxisome-proliferator-induced hepatic effects, it is reasonable to conclude that the encountered levels of exposure to these non-genotoxic agents do not present a hepatocarcinogenic hazard to humans.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

In vivo and in vitro peroxisome proliferation properties of selected clofibrate analogues in the rat. Structure-activity relationships

We have examined, relative to clofibric acid (CPIB), the effects of a chemical series of phenoxyacetic acids and of two asymmetric CPIB analogues, the R(+)- and S(-)-enantiomers of 2-(4-chlorophenoxy)propionic acid (4-CPPA) and 2-(4-chlorophenoxy)butyric acid (4-CPBA), on hepatic peroxisome proliferation both in vivo and in vitro utilizing cholesterol-fed rats and primary cultured rat hepatocytes respectively. Peroxisome proliferation was assessed by measuring changes in peroxisomal fatty acyl-CoA oxidase (FACO) and microsomal laurate hydroxylase (LH) activities as well as by electron microscopic examination of 3,3'-diaminobenzidine-stained liver slices. CPIB and enantiomers of 4-CPPA and 4-CPBA (0.6 mmol/kg/day for 7 days) produced hepatomegaly, lowered serum cholesterol levels, and caused 4.7- to 12.9-fold and 2.9- to 6.1-fold increases in hepatic FACO and LH activities, respectively, in cholesterol-fed rats. Electron micrographs of liver cells showed an increased number of peroxisomes from cholesterol-fed rats given S(-)-4-CPBA and CPIB. Likewise, these compounds (0.03 to 1.0 mM) induced FACO and LH in primary rat hepatocyte cultures after 72 hr. R(+)- and S(-)-Enantiomers of 4-CPPA produced similar concentration-dependent and maximal increases in both FACO and LH activities, whereas enantiomeric selectivity [S(-) greater than R(+)] for the induction of these two enzymes was observed with the isomers of 4-CPBA. The increases in the activities of FACO and LH caused by S(-)-4-CPBA were similar to those elicited by 1.0 mM CPIB (58.6- and 9.8-fold respectively). These results show that the enantiomers of 4-CPPA and 4-CPBA induce the peroxisome proliferation-associated enzymes FACO and LH in vivo and in vitro, and that the S(-)-isomer of 4-CPBA causes a greater induction of FACO and LH in vitro than its corresponding R(+)-isomer, indicating that these two enzymes are induced in an enantioselective manner. Optimal induction of the peroxisome proliferation-associated enzymes FACO and LH in rat hepatocyte cultures was produced by phenoxyacetic acids possessing (1) a chlorine atom at the 4-position of the phenyl ring, (2) a dimethyl or mono-ethyl substitution at the alpha-carbon atom of the carboxylic acid side chain; and (3) an S(-)-orientation for chiral analogues possessing a mono-ethyl group at the alpha-carbon atom of the carboxylic acid side chain.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

The effect of beclobric acid and clofibric acid on peroxisomal beta-oxidation and peroxisome proliferation in primary cultures of rat, monkey and human hepatocytes

The peroxisome-proliferating effects of clofibric acid and beclobric acid were studied in primary cultures of hepatocytes derived from rat, monkey (Macaca fascicularis) and human liver. Determination of peroxisomal fatty acid beta-oxidation and morphometrical analysis of the peroxisomal compartment were performed after incubation of 1-day-old hepatocyte cultures for 3 days with either compound. In rat liver cell cultures both compounds gave a 10-fold increase in peroxisomal beta-oxidation, a 3-fold increase in the relative number of peroxisomes and a 1.5-fold increase in the mean size of peroxisomes. Beclobric acid gave its maximal effect at a concentration of 10 microM, which is at least one order of magnitude lower than the maximum-effect concentration of clofibric acid. At concentrations greater than 300 microM beclobric acid was cytotoxic. No stimulation of peroxisomal fatty acid beta-oxidation was found in either monkey or human hepatocyte cultures. Morphometrical analysis also showed no increase in the peroxisomal compartment in cultures derived from these species, as indicated by the lack of increase in both relative number and size of peroxisomes. In all three species tested beclobric acid was equally cytotoxic for hepatocytes in vitro. These results are of relevance for the interpretation of the peroxisome-proliferating effects of clofibrate and similar compounds in rats. Since peroxisome proliferation may be correlated to increased hepatic tumour incidences in the rat, the absence of peroxisome proliferation in primates suggests the absence of tumourogenic activity by hypolipidemic compounds in these species.

Quantitative assessment of enzyme induction by peroxisome proliferators and application to determination of effects on triglyceride biosynthesis in primary cultures of rat hepatocytes

Potencies for the induction of peroxisomal fatty acyl-CoA oxidase (FACO) and microsomal laurate hydroxylase (LH) were determined for clofibric acid (CPIB), ciprofibrate (Cipro) and gemfibrozil (Gem) in primary cultures of rat hepatocytes based on complete concentration-response analysis and determination of theoretical maximum inductive responses for Cipro. CPIB and Cipro each induced FACO and LH in a concentration-dependent manner. Scatchard analysis of the data allowed calculation of EC50 values (mM) of 0.82 and 0.028 (for FACO) and 0.22 and 0.0081 (for LH) for CPIB and Cipro respectively. The EC50 ratios (CPIB/Cipro) were identical (29-fold) for induction of FACO and LH, supporting the concept that these enzymes are induced by CPIB and Cipro through a common mechanism. By comparison, Gem was relatively ineffective as an inducer of FACO and LH. Furthermore, Gem did not antagonize Cipro-mediated enzyme inductions, suggesting that Gem is a peroxisome proliferator of low potency rather than a partial agonist. Based on the potency and time-course profiles observed for induction of FACO and LH, the effects of CPIB, Cipro and Gem on triglyceride (TG) biosynthesis were determined in the cultured rat hepatocytes. Conditions of maximal FACO and LH induction by the drugs did not result in inhibition of TG biosynthesis in the cells. These results support the in vivo evidence which indicates that FACO and LH induction are not causally linked to the hypotriglyceridemic actions of peroxisome proliferating drugs.