Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:1.6.5.2 (NQO1)
6,196 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Enhanced formation of nitric oxide (NO) by both the constitutive and the inducible isoforms of NO synthase (NOS) has been implicated in the pathophysiology of a variety of diseases, including circulatory shock. Non-isoform-selective inhibition of NO formation, however, may lead to side effects by inhibiting the constitutive isoform of NOS and, thus, the various physiological actions of NO. S-Methylisothiourea sulfate (SMT) is at least 10- to 30-fold more potent as an inhibitor of inducible NOS (iNOS) in immunostimulated cultured macrophages (EC50, 6 microM) and vascular smooth muscle cells (EC50, 2 microM) than NG-methyl-L-arginine (MeArg) or any other NOS inhibitor yet known. The effect of SMT on iNOS activity can be reversed by excess L-arginine in a concentration-dependent manner. SMT (up to 1 mM) does not inhibit the activity of xanthine oxidase, diaphorase, lactate dehydrogenase, monoamine oxidase, catalase, cytochrome P450, or superoxide dismutase. SMT is equipotent with MeArg in inhibiting the endothelial, constitutive isoform of NOS in vitro and causes increases in blood pressure similar to those produced by MeArg in normal rats. SMT, however, dose-dependently reverses (0.01-3 mg/kg) the hypotension and the vascular hyporeactivity to vasoconstrictor agents caused by endotoxin [bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS), 10 mg/kg, i.v.] in anesthetized rats. Moreover, therapeutic administration of SMT (5 mg/kg, i.p., given 2 hr after LPS, 10 mg/kg, i.p.) attenuates the rises in plasma alanine and aspartate aminotransferases, bilirubin, and creatinine and also prevents hypocalcaemia when measured 6 hr after administration of LPS. SMT (1 mg/kg, i.p.) improves 24-hr survival of mice treated with a high dose of LPS (60 mg/kg, i.p.). Thus, SMT is a potent and selective inhibitor of iNOS and exerts beneficial effects in rodent models of septic shock. SMT, therefore, may have considerable value in the therapy of circulatory shock of various etiologies and other pathophysiological conditions associated with induction of iNOS.
...
PMID:Beneficial effects and improved survival in rodent models of septic shock with S-methylisothiourea sulfate, a potent and selective inhibitor of inducible nitric oxide synthase. 752 23

One mechanism by which chemicals cause cellular injury is the formation of reactive oxygen species. In vitro studies have shown that metallothionein (MT), a small metal-binding, sulfhydryl-rich, readily inducible protein, can scavenge reactive oxygen species, especially hydroxyl radicals. Nevertheless, whether or not MT protects against oxidative stress in the intact animal is not known. Experimental induction of MT could help to clarify this question, however, it is unclear whether agents that induce MT also influence known antioxidant systems. Therefore, the present study was designed to determine whether the well-known MT inducers are specific for induction of MT or whether they might also influence other hepatic systems that protect against oxidative stress. Male rats were administered cadmium chloride (Cd; 30 mumol/kg, s.c.), zinc chloride (Zn; 1000 mumol/kg, s.c.), alpha-hederin (alpha-H, 30 mumol/kg, s.c.) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 1 mg/kg, s.c.) 24 h prior to measurement of antioxidant systems. Zn and alpha-H increased hepatic GSH concentration 20% and 55%, respectively. Cd significantly increased, whereas LPS reduced, the activities of selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase. Glutathione S-transferases were not altered by any of the inducers. Cd also increased DT-diaphorase activity. Cd, Zn and alpha-H all decreased catalase activity 20-35%, while the activity of superoxide dismutase was unaffected by the inducers. The amount of total cytochrome P450 enzymes and cytochrome b5 were decreased by LPS, Cd and alpha-H, while Zn appeared to have no effect. The activities of P450 enzymes towards testosterone oxidation were also decreased by LPS, Cd and alpha-H. In conclusion, all four MT inducers examined affect systems known to protect cells against oxidative stress. Therefore, using these chemicals to determine the in vivo role of MT in protecting against oxidative stress poses difficulties.
...
PMID:Effect of several metallothionein inducers on oxidative stress defense mechanisms in rats. 856 Apr 99

Nitric oxide synthase (NOS) isoenzymes generate nitric oxide (NO), a sensitive multifunctional intercellular signal molecule. High NO levels are produced by an inducible NOS (iNOS) in activated macrophages in response to proinflammatory agents, many of which also regulate local bone metabolism. NO is a potent inhibitor of osteoclast bone resorption, whereas inhibitors of NOS promote bone resorption both in vitro and in vivo. The possibility that osteoclasts, like macrophages, express a regulated iNOS and produce NO as a potential autocrine signal following inflammatory stimulation was investigated in well-characterized avian marrow-derived osteoclast-like cells. NO production (reflected by medium nitrite levels) was markedly elevated in these cells by the proinflammatory agents lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and the synergistic action of IL-1 alpha, TNF alpha, and IFN gama. inhibitors of NOS activity (aminoguanidine, L-NAME) or iNOS induction (dexamethasone, TGF beta) reduced LPS-stimulated nitrite production. LPS also increased the NOS-associated diaphorase activity of these cells and their reactivity with anti-iNOS antibodies. RT-PCR cloning, using avian osteoclast-like cell RNA and human iNOS primers, yielded a novel 900 bp cDNA with high sequence homology (76%) to human, rat, and mouse iNOS genes. In probing osteoclast-like cell RNA with the PCR-derived iNOS cDNA, a 4.8 kb mRNA species was detected whose levels were greatly increased by LPS. Induction of iNOS mRNA by LPS, or by proinflammatory cytokines, occurred prior to the rise of medium nitrite in time course studies and was diminished by dexamethasone. Moreover, osteoclast-like cells demonstrated an upregulation of NO production and iNOS mRNA by IL-8 and IL-10, regulatory mechanism's not previously described. It is concluded that osteoclast-like cells express a novel iNOS that is upregulated by inflammatory mediators, leading to NO production. Therefore, NO may serve as both a paracrine and autocrine signal for modulating osteoclast bone resorption.
...
PMID:Proinflammatory agents, IL-8 and IL-10, upregulate inducible nitric oxide synthase expression and nitric oxide production in avian osteoclast-like cells. 870 87

The principal goal of the present study was to test the hypothesis that cytokines modulate glucose transport in skeletal muscle by increasing nitric oxide production. Cultured L6 skeletal muscle cells were incubated in the presence of tumour necrosis factor-alpha, interferon-gamma or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) alone or in combination for 24 h. Neither cytokines nor LPS alone induced NO production, as measured by nitrite concentrations in the medium. However, when used in combination, the two cytokines significantly stimulated NO production, and this effect was synergistically enhanced by the presence of LPS. Reverse transcriptase-PCR (RT-PCR) analysis revealed that NO release was associated with the induction of inducible (macrophage-type) NO synthase (iNOS). The increase in iNOS expression was confirmed at the protein level by Western-blot analysis and NADPH/diaphorase histochemical staining. Cytokines and LPS markedly increased basal glucose transport in L6 myocytes. Insulin also stimulated basal glucose transport, but significantly less in cells chronically exposed to cytokines/LPS. The sensitivity of L6 muscle cells to insulin-stimulated glucose transport was also significantly decreased by cytokines/LPS treatment. The NOS inhibitor NG-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME) inhibited nitrite production in cytokine/LPS-treated cells, and this prevented the increase in basal glucose transport and restored muscle cell responsiveness to insulin. Cytokines/LPS exposure significantly increased GLUT1 transporter protein levels but decreased GLUT4 expression in L6 cells. l-NAME treatment prevented the increase in GLUT1 protein content but failed to restore GLUT4 transporter levels. These results demonstrate that cytokines and LPS affect glucose transport and insulin action by inducing iNOS expression and NO production in skeletal muscle cells. The data further indicate that cytokines and LPS increase the expression of the GLUT1 transporter protein by an NO-dependent mechanism.
...
PMID:Cytokines modulate glucose transport in skeletal muscle by inducing the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase. 923 Jan 32

Synthesis of nitric oxide (NO) has been shown in the glandular epithelium of human prostate, with highest levels in the peripheral zone. This location is believed to be the main source of prostatic cancer. The ability of stromal cells to produce NO may contribute to the malignant process. Since solid tumours are prone to hypoxia and malignant progression, experiments were undertaken to test the effect of respiratory block on the induction of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) by a Dunning rat prostatic epithelial line. A metastatic phenotype (Mat-LyLu) was treated in vitro with brief exposure to cyanide in order to mimic transient hypoxic stress. NADPH-diaphorase activities in paraformaldehyde-fixed cells was used to follow the expression of NOS. NADPH-diaphorase activity was found to be inducible by a range of factors, including mechanical damage and infection of cultures. Cyanide induced a dose-dependent staining that was statistically greater than in untreated cells. Consistent with diaphorase staining being a marker for the inducible isoform of NOS (iNOS), induction and enhancement of staining, respectively, was observed in response to treatment with lipopolysaccharide or withdrawal of dexamethasone supplement. Results demonstrate that prostatic epithelia can be triggered in culture to express iNOS by transient oxidative stress in the form of respiratory poisoning by NaCN. Paradoxically, nitric oxide production by epithelia within hypoxic zones of solid tumours may contribute to the promotion and/or inhibition of tumorigenesis.
...
PMID:Transient block of respiratory chain by cyanide triggers NADPH-diaphorase activity (a marker for nitric oxide synthase) in Dunning rat prostatic epithelium. 945 79

Inducible nitric oxide (NO) synthase (iNOS)-mediated hyperproduction of NO in airways has been reported in asthmatic patients. However, the role of NO in the pathogenesis of asthma has not yet been fully elucidated. The aim of this study was to examine whether the iNOS-derived NO affects airway microvascular leakage, one of the characteristic features of asthmatic airway inflammation. Guinea-pigs were exposed to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (1 mg x mL(-1)) by inhalation in order to induce iNOS in the airways, and the histochemical staining of reduced nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH)-diaphorase activity was determined 5 h after the inhalation to confirm the iNOS induction. Airway microvascular leakage to subthreshold doses of substance P (0.3 microg x kg(-1), i.v.) was also examined in the absence and presence of an iNOS inhibitor (aminoguanidine) in LPS- or saline-exposed (control) animals using Evans blue dye and Monastral blue dye. In the LPS-exposed animals, increased NADPH-diaphorase activity was observed in the airway microvasculature compared with the control animals. Substance P caused significant airway microvascular leakage assessed by Evans blue dye in all airway levels in the LPS-exposed animals but not in the control group. This was also confirmed by Monastral blue dye extravasation. Aminoguanidine abolished this LPS-induced enhancement of plasma leakage to substance P without changing the systemic blood pressure. These results may suggest that inducible nitric oxide synthase-derived nitric oxide is capable of potentiating neurogenic plasma leakage in airways.
...
PMID:Induction of nitric oxide synthase by lipopolysaccharide inhalation enhances substance P-induced microvascular leakage in guinea-pigs. 981 54

We investigated the pathophysiological role of nitric oxide synthesized by inducible nitric oxide synthase in the brain, by injecting lipopolysaccharide directly into the rat cerebral cortex/hippocampus. The levels of nitric oxide metabolites, nitrite and nitrate, began to increase in a dose-dependent manner with a 3-h lag, and reached approximately seven-fold the basal levels 8 h after the direct injection of lipopolysaccharide (5 microg). The lipopolysaccharide-induced increase in nitrite and nitrate levels was inhibited by treatment with the specific inducible nitric oxide synthase inhibitor aminoguanidine. The protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide delayed the onset of the increase in nitric oxide metabolite levels, and reduced the peak levels. Lipopolysaccharide increased Ca2+-independent, but not Ca2+-dependent, nitric oxide synthase activity in the brain. Intense nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-diaphorase activity was observed in round cells in the vicinity of the site of injection of lipopolysaccharide 8 h after the injection. Neuronal death was observed seven days after the injection of lipopolysaccharide. Spatial memory, as assessed by performance in a water maze task and spontaneous alternation behavior in a Y-maze, was significantly impaired in rats which had had previous bilateral injections of lipopolysaccharide into the hippocampus. The lipopolysaccharide-induced neuronal death and spatial memory impairments were prevented by aminoguanidine. These results suggest that direct injection of lipopolysaccharide into the brain causes an induction of inducible nitric oxide synthase in vivo. Furthermore, it is suggested that nitric oxide produced by inducible nitric oxide synthase is responsible for the lipopolysaccharide-induced brain dysfunction.
...
PMID:Brain dysfunction associated with an induction of nitric oxide synthase following an intracerebral injection of lipopolysaccharide in rats. 1005 Dec 7

A variety of environmental stresses stimulate the mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) kinase (MEKK) > stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK)-ERK kinase (SEK) > SAPK/c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase (JNK) stress-activated protein kinase cascade and coordinately activate the transcription factor NFkappaB. Mechanisms of stress activation upstream of MEKK1 have not been precisely determined. Redox mechanisms involving sulfhydryls are likely because N-acetyl-cysteine at millimolar concentrations blocks stress signals. Because intracellular sulfhydryl concentrations can be regulated through redox cycling involving reactive quinones (1), we tested the ability of quinone reductase inhibitors to alter stress signaling. Several quinone reductases are inhibited by dicoumarol, a coumarin derivative. Dicoumarol prevented SAPK activation in vivo by chemical cell stressors and also prevented SAPK activation induced by expression of the tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) receptor-associated protein TRAF2 but not by expression of truncated active MEKK1. Other coumarin derivatives failed to block SAPK activation, but other inhibitors of quinone reductases, particularly menadione, similarly blocked SAPK activation. Cells deficient in a major quinone reductase, NQO1, displayed hypersensitivity to dicoumarol stress inhibition, whereas SAPK in cells reconstituted with the NQO1 gene displayed relative dicoumarol resistance. Consistent with the proposed role of overlapping upstream signaling cascades in activation of NFkappaB, dicoumarol also blocked NFkappaB activation in primary macrophages stimulated with either lipopolysaccharide or TNFalpha. In addition, dicoumarol strongly potentiated TNFalpha-induced apoptosis in HeLa cells, probably by blocking the anti-apoptotic effect of NFkappaB. The ability of dicoumarol to simultaneously inhibit SAPK and NFkappaB activation and to potentiate apoptotic cell death suggests that SAPK is not an obligate participant in apoptosis. Dicoumarol, currently in clinical use as an oral anticoagulant, represents a potential therapeutic inhibitor of the SAPK and NFkappaB response.
...
PMID:Quinone reductase inhibitors block SAPK/JNK and NFkappaB pathways and potentiate apoptosis. 1053 5

The modifying effects of dietary feeding of a polyisoprenylated benzophenone, garcinol, isolated from Garcinia indica fruit rind on the development of azoxymethane (AOM)-induced colonic aberrant crypt foci (ACF) were investigated in male F344 rats. We also assessed the effects of garcinol on proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) index in ACF and activities of detoxifying enzymes of glutathione S-transferase (GST) and quinone reductase (QR) in liver. In addition, we examined the effects of garcinol on 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate-induced O(2)(-) generation in differentiated human promyelocytic HL-60 cells and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)- and interferon (IFN)-gamma-induced nitric oxide (NO) generation in mouse macrophage RAW 264.7 cells. Western blotting analysis of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression was done in LPS- and IFN-gamma-treated mouse macrophage RAW 264.7 cells. Rats were given subcutaneous injections of AOM (15 mg/kg body wt) once a week for 3 weeks to induce ACF. They also received the experimental diet containing 0.01 or 0.05% garcinol for 5 weeks, starting 1 week before the first dosing of AOM. AOM exposure produced 97 +/- 15 ACF/rat at the end of the study (week 5). Dietary administration of garcinol caused significant reduction in the frequency of ACF: 72 +/- 15 (26% reduction, P < 0.01) at a dose of 0.01% and 58 +/- 8 (40% reduction, P < 0.001) at a dose of 0.05%. Garcinol administration significantly lowered PCNA index in ACF. Feeding of garcinol significantly elevated liver GST and QR activities. In addition, garcinol could suppress O(2)(-) and NO generation and expression of iNOS and COX-2 proteins. These findings might suggest possible chemopreventive ability of garcinol, through induction of liver GST and QR, inhibition of O(2)(-) and NO generation and/or suppression of iNOS and COX-2 expression, on colon tumorigenesis.
...
PMID:Prevention of colonic aberrant crypt foci by dietary feeding of garcinol in male F344 rats. 1083 8

Identification and use of effective cancer chemopreventive agents have become an important issue in public health-related research. For identification of potential cancer chemopreventive constituents we have set up a battery of cell- and enzyme-based in vitro marker systems relevant for prevention of carcinogenesis in vivo. These systems include modulation of drug metabolism (inhibition of Cyp1A activity, induction of NAD(P)H:quinone reductase (QR) activity in Hepa1c1c7 murine hepatoma cell culture), determination of radical scavenging (DPPH scavenging) and antioxidant effects (scavenging of superoxide anion-, hydroxyl- and peroxyl-radicals), anti-inflammatory mechanisms (inhibition of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-mediated nitric oxide (NO) generation by inducible NO synthase (iNOS) in Raw 264.7 murine macrophages, cyclooxygenase-1 (Cox-1) inhibition), and anti-tumor promoting activities (inhibition of phorbol ester-induced ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity in 308 murine keratinocytes). We have tested a series of known chemopreventive substances belonging to several structural classes as reference compounds for the identification of novel chemopreventive agents or mechanisms. These include organosulfur compounds (phenethylisothiocyanate (PEITC), diallylsulfide, diallyldisulfide), terpenes (limonene, perillyl alcohol, oleanolic acid, 18-beta-glycyrrhetinic acid), short-chain fatty acids (sodium butyrate), indoles (indole-3-carbinol), isoflavonoids (quercetin, silymarin, genistein), catechins ((-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG)), simple phenols (ellagic acid, resveratrol, piceatannol, curcumin), pharmaceutical agents (piroxicam, acetylsalicylic acid, tamoxifen), and vitamins/derivatives (ascorbic acid, Trolox). We confirmed known chemopreventive mechanisms of these compounds. Additionally, we could demonstrate the usefulness of our approach by identification of hitherto unknown mechanisms of selected agents. As an example, we detected anti-inflammatory properties of PEITC, based on NF-kappaB-mediated inhibition of NO production. Further, PEITC inhibited phorbol ester-induced superoxide anion radical production in granulocytes, and ODC induction in the 308 cell line. These mechanisms might contribute to the chemopreventive potential of PEITC.
...
PMID:Mechanism-based in vitro screening of potential cancer chemopreventive agents. 1262 14


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next >>