Mechanisms of monooxygenase induction and inhibition

Effects of tebuconazole on cytochrome P450 enzymes, oxidative stress, and endocrine disruption in male rats

The major objective of the present study was to determine the ability of a triazole fungicide tebuconazole to induce cytochrome P450-dependent monooxygenases, oxidative stress, and endocrine-disrupting activity using male rats treated with tebuconazole at 10, 25, and 50 mg/kg p.o. once daily for 28 days. In liver, tebuconazole dose-dependently increased microsomal contents of cytochrome P450 and cytochrome b5 and the activities of NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase, 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase, methoxyresorufin O-demethylase, pentoxyresorufin O-dealkylase, 7-ethoxycoumarin O-deethylase, aniline hydroxylase, and erythromycin N-demethylase. In kidney, tebuconazole increased 7-ethoxycoumarin O-deethylase activity without affecting other monooxygenase activities. In marked contrast to liver and kidney, tebuconazole decreased testicular 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase, methoxyresorufin O-demethylase, 7-ethoxycoumarin O-deethylase, aniline hydroxylase, and erythromycin N-demethylase activities. The results of immunoblot analysis of liver microsomes of controls and tebuconazole-treated rats revealed that tebuconazole induced CYP1A1/2, CYP2B1/2, CYP2E1, and CYP3A proteins in liver. Additions of tebuconazole to liver microsomes inhibited microsomal 7-ethoxycoumarin O-deethylase activity in vitro (IC50  = 1.50-1.69 µM). Treatment of rats with tebuconazole decreased glutathione content and increased glutathione S-transferase, superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase activities in liver; increased superoxide dismutase activities in kidney and testis; but decreased glutathione S-transferase activity in testis. Treatments with tebuconazole decreased serum testosterone concentration and cauda epididymal sperm count. The present study demonstrates that tebuconazole induces a multiplicity of CYPs and oxidative stress in liver; inhibits testicular P450 and glutathione S-transferase activities; and produces anti-androgenic effects in male rats.

Biotransformation Enzymes as Determinants of Xenobiotic Toxicity in Domestic Animals

After coming in contact with living organisms, the majority of foreign compounds undergo a number of chemical reactions known as biotransformations. These are performed by hepatic and extra-hepatic enzyme systems and usually yield more polar derivatives, referred to as 'metabolites', which may leave the body via the urinary and biliary routes or be excreted in animal products such as milk and eggs. Biotransformation does not always imply detoxification because in certain instances metabolites will be produced that are capable of reacting with tissue macromolecules or acquiring toxic properties different to or greater than those of the parent molecule. In this review, which is focused on domestic animals, the role played by oxidative, reductive, hydrolytic and conjugative biotransformation enzymes in the activation/detoxification of xenobiotics is examined. The relationship between extra-hepatic metabolism and target organ toxicity as well as the action of rumen microflora on feed additives, phytotoxins, and pesticides are then discussed. Some of the most important metabolic-based species-related susceptibilities to different poisons, and the influence of enzyme inducers or inhibitors on xenobiotic toxicity and drug safety are also reviewed.

Possible enhancement of the first-pass metabolism of phenacetin by ingestion of grape juice in Chinese subjects

AIMS

This serendipitous study revealed an unexpected effect of Jufeng grape juice on the CYP1A2-mediated metabolism of phenacetin. Investigation of the inhibition of CYP1A2 by grapefruit juice was involved but a translation error led to the grape juice substitution.

METHODS

Twelve healthy subjects took a single oral dose of phenacetin (900 mg) on two randomized occasions together with 200 ml water or grape juice. Plasma phenacetin and paracetamol concentrations were assessed by h.p.l.c.

RESULTS

Ingestion of grape juice was associated with reduced plasma phenacetin concentrations, while paracetamol levels were unaffected. Paracetamol to phenacetin AUC ratios increased from 13.9+/-3.1 to 24.3+/-3.8 after ingestion of grape juice.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest enhanced first-pass metabolism of phenacetin, due to CYP1A2 activation by grape juice or to desaturation of CYP1A2 isoenzymes secondary to a slower rate of phenacetin absorption.

Inhibition of adrenocortical, mitochondrial and microsomal monooxygenases by SU-10'603, a steroid 17 alpha-hydroxylase inhibitor

SU-10'603 is a pyridine derivative that is widely used as a steroid 17 alpha-hydroxylase inhibitor. Studies were done to evaluate its effects in vitro on several other monooxygenases in guinea pig adrenal mitochondrial and microsomal preparations. In adrenal mitochondria, SU-10'603 produced a concentration-dependent inhibition of 11 beta-hydroxylation; 50% inhibition was obtained at a concentration of approximately 0.5 mM. Its potency was similar to that of the 11 beta-hydroxylase inhibitor, metyrapone. SU-10'603 was a more potent inhibitor of cholesterol sidechain cleavage (CSC) than of 11 beta-hydroxylation; a 50% decline in CSC activity was produced by an inhibitor concentration of approximately 0.1 mM. In adrenal microsomal preparations, SU-10'603 had no effect on the rate of 21-hydroxylation of 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone. However, SU-10'603 was a potent inhibitor of adrenal microsomal xenobiotic metabolizing monooxygenases (benzo[a]pyrene hydroxylase, benzphetamine demethylase), effecting approximately 50% inhibition of both reactions at a concentration of 0.05 mM. The results indicate that SU-10'603 inhibits several monooxygenases in the guinea pig adrenal cortex and is thus not specific for 17 alpha-hydroxylation.

Regulation of the expression of some genes for enzymes of glutathione metabolism in hepatotoxicity and hepatocarcinogenesis

The reversible stage of tumor promotion, which follows the stage of initiation and precedes that of progression in multistage carcinogenesis, is a unique example of reversible toxicity in biological systems. In order to study the molecular mechanisms involved in the action of promoting agents during this stage, the regulation of the expression of genes for two enzymes of glutathione metabolism, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) and the placental isozyme of glutathione S-transferase (GST-P), was studied under several different conditions of promotion during multistage hepatocarcinogenesis in the rat. Promotion by phenobarbital caused an increased expression of both of these genes in altered hepatic focal lesions, although this was somewhat more variable in the case of the GGT gene. C.I. Solvent Yellow 14, an industrial dye, served as an effective promoting agent. Feeding this dye resulted in a dramatic increase in the expression of GST-P, but not that of GGT in altered hepatic foci. Factors in crude, cereal-based diets inhibited the stage of promotion by diethylnitrosamine, but enhanced promotion by phenobarbital in a synergistic manner. In contrast, at least one purified diet had the converse effect during this stage. The mRNA levels of GST-P were uniformly elevated dramatically in reversible nodules and neoplasms of rat liver that had been induced by diethylnitrosamine and phenobarbital promotion. In contrast, the level of GGT mRNA was somewhat variable, with an occasional neoplasm exhibiting almost a background level of expression of this gene. Therefore, the altered regulation of multiple genes in hepatocytes during the stage of promotion can vary with the promoting agent itself; this process may be related to the heterogeneous gene expression seen in hepatic neoplasms. A possible role for specific DNA sequences in the 5' flanking regions of such genes is considered. In addition, a cDNA clone to the mRNA of human liver GGT was isolated and sequenced. The homology of the coding sequence of the human liver GGT mRNA to that of rat kidney GGT mRNA was striking.