Regulation of Drug Disposition Gene Expression in Pregnant Mice with Car Receptor Activation

Sex- and Gender-Based Pharmacological Response to Drugs

In humans, the combination of all sex-specific genetic, epigenetic, and hormonal influences of biologic sex produces different in vivo environments for male and female cells. We dissect how these influences of sex modify the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of multiple drugs and provide examples for common drugs acting on specific organ systems. We also discuss how gender of physicians and patients may influence the therapeutic response to drugs. We aim to highlight sex as a genetic modifier of the pharmacological response to drugs, which should be considered as a necessary step toward precision medicine that will benefit men and women. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: This study discusses the influences of biologic sex on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of drugs and provides examples for common drugs acting on specific organ systems. This study also discusses how gender of physicians and patients influence the therapeutic response to drugs.

The Sex-Gender Effects in the Road to Tailored Botanicals

Phenols are a wide family of phytochemicals that are characterized by large chemical diversity and are considered to bioactive molecules of foods, beverages, and botanicals. Although they have a multitude of biological actions, their beneficial effects are rarely evidenced in clinical research with high scientific rigor. This may occur due to the presence of numerous confounders, such as the modulation of phenol bioavailability, which can be regulated by microbiota, age, sex-gender. Sex-gender is an important determinant of health and well-being, and has an impact on environmental and occupational risks, access to health care, disease prevalence, and treatment outcomes. In addition, xenobiotic responses may be strongly influenced by sex-gender. This review describes how sex–gender differentially influences the activities of phenols also in some critical periods of women life such as pregnancy and lactation, considering also the sex of fetuses and infants. Thus, sex–gender is a variable that must be carefully considered and should be used to propose directions for future research on the road to tailored medicine and nutrition.

Singularities of nevirapine metabolism: from sex-dependent differences to idiosyncratic toxicity

Nevirapine (NVP) is a first-generation non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor widely used for the treatment and prophylaxis of human immunodeficiency virus infection. The drug is taken throughout the patient's life and, due to the availability of an extended-release formulation, it is administered once daily. This antiretroviral is one of the scarce examples of drugs with prescription criteria based on sex, in order to prevent adverse reactions. The therapy with NVP has been associated with potentially life-threatening liver and idiosyncratic skin toxicity. Multiple evidence has emerged regarding the formation of electrophilic NVP metabolites as crucial for adverse idiosyncratic reactions. The formation of reactive metabolites that yield covalent adducts with proteins has been demonstrated in patients under NVP-based treatment. Interestingly, several pharmacogenetic- and sex-related factors associated with NVP toxicity can be mechanistically explained by an imbalance toward increased formation of NVP-derived reactive metabolites and/or impaired detoxification capability. Moreover, the haptenation of self-proteins by these reactive species provides a plausible link between NVP bioactivation and immunotoxicity, further supporting the relevance of this toxicokinetics hypothesis. In the current paper, we review the existing knowledge and recent developments on NVP metabolism and their relation to NVP toxicity.

Association Between miR-605A>G, miR-608G>C, miR-631I>D, miR-938C>T, and miR-1302-3C>T Polymorphisms and Risk of Recurrent Implantation Failure

Recurrent implantation failure (RIF) is diagnosed when pregnancy failure occurs after 2 consecutive in vitro fertilization-embryo transfers (IVF-ET) to the endometrium using at least 4 high-quality embryos. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small noncoding RNA and reported to play an important role in cell proliferation as well as implantation process. Recently, it has been reported that miRNA can regulate RIF occurrence. So, we were to examine the association between the specific miRNA polymorphisms and RIF in Korean women. Genotyping was performed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) assay to determine the frequency of the following polymorphisms: miR-605A>G, miR-608G>C, miR-631I>D, miR-938C>T, and miR-1302-3C>T. Our results demonstrate a decreased incidence of RIF in patients with the miR-1302-3C>T polymorphism (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 0.234; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.089-0.618; P = .003). Based on our allele combination analysis, the C-T ( miR-938/ miR-1302-3: OR = 0.259; 95% CI, 0.100-0.674; P = .003) allele was also associated with decreased RIF risk. From our interaction analysis with miR-1302-3, the miR-1302-3CC genotype (AOR = 43.332; 95% CI, 5.576-336.745) showed an association with RIF prevalence in participants with an activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) ≤22.6. We found that the miR-1302-3C>T polymorphism is significantly associated with RIF development in Korean women. Specifically, our study suggests that the T allele of miR-1302-3 may decrease the risk of RIF in Korean women.

The Ethanol Extract of Licorice (Glycyrrhiza uralensis) Protects against Triptolide-Induced Oxidative Stress through Activation of Nrf2

To investigate the potential role of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) in licorice ethanol extract (LEE) against triptolide- (TP-) induced hepatotoxicity, HepG2 cells were exposed to LEE (30, 60, and 90 mg·L⁻¹) for 12 h and then treated with TP (50 nM) for 24 h. Besides, an acute liver injury model was established in ICR mice by a single dose of TP (1.0 mg·kg⁻¹, i.p.). Relevant oxidant and antioxidant mediators were analyzed. TP led to an obvious oxidative stress as evidenced by increasing levels of ROS and decreasing GSH contents in HepG2 cells. In vitro results were likely to hold true in in vivo experiments. LEE protected against TP-induced oxidative stress in both in vitro and in vivo conditions. Furthermore, the decreased level of Nrf2 in the TP-treated group was observed. The mRNA levels of downstream genes decreased as well in ICR mice liver, whereas they increased in HepG2 cells. In contrast, LEE pretreatment significantly increased the level of Nrf2 and its downstream genes. LEE protects against TP-induced oxidative stress partly via the activation of Nrf2 pathway.