Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:1.17.3.2 (xanthine oxidase)
 8,383 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Significant pulmonary toxicity is associated with the use of nitrofurantoin; however, the mechanism of cellular toxicity remains poorly characterized. By using a novel in vitro red blood cell (RBC) chromium 51 cytotoxicity assay, cell injury induced by nitrofurantoin was quantified with normocatalasemic BALB/c RBCs and hypocatalasemic (but otherwise genetically identical) CCN RBCs as target cell populations. Nitrofurantoin at concentrations of 2 x 10(-4) and 4 x 10(-4) mol/L resulted in significant injury to normocatalasemic RBCs with a cytotoxic index (CI) of 21.7% +/- 3.7% and 65.3% +/- 3.7% (p less than 0.05, both comparisons). This injury was substantially increased when nitrofurantoin (2 x 10(-4) and 4 x 10(-4) mol/L was incubated with hypocatalasemic RBCs, resulting in CIs of 59.0% +/- 7.4% and 91.0% +/- 2.0% respectively (p less than 0.05, both comparisons with normocatalasemic RBCs). Direct oxidant-mediated cytotoxicity induced by either H2O2 or the superoxide anion radical (as generated by xanthine-xanthine oxidase) also resulted in more significant injury to hypocatalasemic RBCs than to normocatalasemic RBCs (p less than 0.05, both comparisons). Catalase levels of CCN RBCs were approximately 7% of control BALB/c RBC values; however, the activities of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase were identical in both populations of RBCs. This model, using genetically defined target cell populations, clearly demonstrates the importance of endogenous catalase in protecting against nitrofurantoin-induced cytotoxicity, suggesting that H2O2 is a critical intermediary in the direct cell injury mediated by the drug.
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PMID:Importance of hydrogen peroxide in nitrofurantoin-induced cytotoxicity: evidence from an inbred catalase-deficient strain of mice. 341 Nov 91

1. Nitrofurantoin is an antimicrobial agent which produces pulmonary toxicity via the redox cycling of the nitro group and its radical anion. This futile cycling triggers a complex series of events known collectively as oxidative stress. 2. In the isolated perfused rat lung, nitrofurantoin induced a decrease in tissue levels of glutathione but not protein thiols by the end of the 180 min experiment. There was no decline in tissue levels of angiotensin converting enzyme (a marker of cell disruption). However, edema was extensive as monitored in real time by weight gain (2.71 +/- 0.56 g vs 0.63 +/- 0.53 g in control, P < 0.05, n = 4) and lung mechanical functioning. The edema was matched by an increase in lavage proteins (85 +/- 15 mg vs 16 +/- 9 mg in controls, P < 0.05, n = 4). Electron microscopic examination of tissue indicated that the endothelial cells were detached from the basement membrane which would account for the edema. 3. Co-infusion of penicillamine, N-acetylcysteine or N-(2-mercaptopropionyl)-glycine which can protect tissue from oxidative stress failed to mitigate NFT-induced edema. Allopurinol, an inhibitor of xanthine oxidase and a metal chelator, significantly decreased weight gain but did not prevent the loss of glutathione. These results suggested that allopurinol was not blocking metabolic activation of NFT by xanthine oxidase but scavenging metal cations which can initiate and/or propagate the oxidative stress cascade. 4. We concluded that, in the isolated perfused rat lung, the classic pathway of oxidative stress induced by NFT is interrupted at the stage of GSH loss. These experiments demonstrated that organ function was compromised more than the individual cells. They also suggested that allopurinol may prove beneficial in modulating NFT pulmonary toxicity.
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PMID:Mitigation of nitrofurantoin-induced toxicity in the perfused rat lung. 942 87