The role of cyclophilin D in interspecies differences in susceptibility to hepatotoxic drug-induced mitochondrial injury

Increased susceptibility to troglitazone-induced mitochondrial permeability transition in type 2 diabetes mellitus model rat

Troglitazone, a member of the thiazolidinedione class of antidiabetic drugs, was withdrawn from the market because it causes severe liver injury. One of the mechanisms for this adverse effect is thought to be mitochondrial toxicity. To investigate the characteristics of troglitazone-induced liver toxicity in more depth, the toxicological effects of troglitazone on hepatocytes and liver mitochondria were investigated using a rat model of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Troglitazone was found to increase mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT) in the liver mitochondria of diabetic rats to a greater extent than in control rats, whereas mitochondrial membrane potential and oxidative phosphorylation were not affected. To identify the factors associated with this increase in susceptibility to MPT in diabetic rats, we assessed the oxidative status of the liver mitochondria and found a decrease in mitochondrial glutathione content and an increase in phospholipid peroxidation. Moreover, incorporation of oxidized cardiolipin, a mitochondrion-specific phospholipid, was involved in the troglitazone-induced alteration in susceptibility to MPT. In conclusion, liver mitochondria display disease-associated mitochondrial lipid peroxidation in T2DM, which facilitates the higher susceptibility to troglitazone-induced MPT. Thus, greater susceptibility of liver mitochondria may be a host factor leading to troglitazone-induced hepatotoxicity in T2DM.

A Novel Model of Intravital Platelet Imaging Using CD41-ZsGreen1 Transgenic Rats

Platelets play pivotal roles in both hemostasis and thrombosis. Although models of intravital platelet imaging are available for thrombosis studies in mice, few are available for rat studies. The present effort aimed to generate fluorescent platelets in rats and assess their dynamics in a rat model of arterial injury. We generated CD41-ZsGreen1 transgenic rats, in which green fluorescence protein ZsGreen1 was expressed specifically in megakaryocytes and thus platelets. The transgenic rats exhibited normal hematological and biochemical values with the exception of body weight and erythroid parameters, which were slightly lower than those of wild-type rats. Platelet aggregation, induced by 20 μM ADP and 10 μg/ml collagen, and blood clotting times were not significantly different between transgenic and wild-type rats. Saphenous arteries of transgenic rats were injured with 10% FeCl3, and the formation of fluorescent thrombi was evaluated using confocal microscopy. FeCl3 caused time-dependent increases in the mean fluorescence intensity of injured arteries of vehicle-treated rats. Prasugrel (3 mg/kg, p.o.), administered 2 h before FeCl3, significantly inhibited fluorescence compared with vehicle-treated rats (4.5 ± 0.4 vs. 14.9 ± 2.4 arbitrary fluorescence units at 30 min, respectively, n = 8, P = 0.0037). These data indicate that CD41-ZsGreen1 transgenic rats represent a useful model for intravital imaging of platelet-mediated thrombus formation and the evaluation of antithrombotic agents.

Mitochondrial toxicity of diclofenac and its metabolites via inhibition of oxidative phosphorylation (ATP synthesis) in rat liver mitochondria: Possible role in drug induced liver injury (DILI)

Diclofenac is a widely prescribed NSAID, which by itself and its reactive metabolites (Phase-I and Phase-II) may be involved in serious idiosyncratic hepatotoxicity. Mitochondrial injury is one of the mechanisms of drug induced liver injury (DILI). In the present work, an investigation of the inhibitory effects of diclofenac (Dic) and its phase I [4-hydroxy diclofenac (4'-OH-Dic) and 5-hydroxy diclofenac (5-OH-dic)] and Phase-II [diclofenac acyl glucuronide (DicGluA) and diclofenac glutathione thioester (DicSG)] metabolites, on ATP synthesis in rat liver mitochondria was carried out. A mechanism based inhibition of ATP synthesis is exerted by diclofenac and its metabolites. Phase-I metabolite (4'-OH-Dic) and Phase-II metabolites (DicGluA and DicSG) showed potent inhibition (2-5 fold) of ATP synthesis, where as 5-OH-Dic, one of the Phase-I metabolite, was a less potent inhibitor as compared to Dic. The calculated kinetic constants of mechanism based inhibition of ATP synthesis by Dic showed maximal rate of inactivation (Kinact) of 2.64 ± 0.15 min(-1) and half maximal rate of inactivation (KI) of 7.69 ± 2.48 μM with Kinact/KI ratio of 0.343 min(-1) μM(-1). Co-incubation of mitochondria with Dic and reduced GSH exhibited a protective effect on Dic mediated inhibition of ATP synthesis. Our data from this study strongly indicate that Dic as well as its metabolites could be involved in the hepato-toxic action through inhibition of ATP synthesis.

Metabolic activation of hepatotoxic drug (benzbromarone) induced mitochondrial membrane permeability transition

The risk of drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is of great concern to the pharmaceutical industry. It is well-known that metabolic activation of drugs to form toxic metabolites (TMs) is strongly associated with DILI onset. Drug-induced mitochondrial dysfunction is also strongly associated with increased risk of DILI. However, it is difficult to determine the target of TMs associated with exacerbation of DILI because of difficulties in identifying and purifying TMs. In this study, we propose a sequential in vitro assay system to assess TM formation and their ability to induce mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT) in a one-pot process. In this assay system, freshly-isolated rat liver mitochondria were incubated with reaction solutions of 44 test drugs preincubated with liver microsomes in the presence or absence of NADPH; then, NADPH-dependent MPT pore opening was assessed as mitochondrial swelling. In this assay system, several hepatotoxic drugs, including benzbromarone (BBR), significantly induced MPT in a NADPH-dependent manner. We investigated the rationality of using BBR as a model drug, since it showed the most prominent MPT in our assay system. Both the production of a candidate toxic metabolite of BBR (1',6-(OH)2 BBR) and NADPH-dependent MPT were inhibited by several cytochrome P450 (CYP) inhibitors (clotrimazole and SKF-525A, 100μM). In summary, this assay system can be used to evaluate comprehensive metabolite-dependent MPT without identification or purification of metabolites.