Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts: Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound   Target Concepts: Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound

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Query: EC:2.6.1.1 (aspartate aminotransferase)
21,665 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Nitric oxide synthase produces NO, citrulline, water, and NADP at the expense of arginine, NADPH, and dioxygen. While citrulline has been considered to be an inert by-product of the high output inducible isoform of NO synthase (iNOS), we show here that immunostimulants induce a metabolic pathway in vascular smooth muscle cells, which enables them to regenerate arginine from citrulline. Regeneration of arginine from citrulline is accomplished by two urea cycle enzymes: arginino-succinate synthetase (AS) and argininosuccinate lyase (AL). Whereas AL is constitutive to vascular smooth muscle cells, AS mRNA and enzyme activity is markedly induced in cells by treatment with bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The induction of AS mRNA and activity by LPS follows a time course which mirrors that for iNOS but lags 1-2 h behind. As shown for iNOS, interferon-gamma does not itself induce AS but is synergistic with LPS. AS induction is suppressed by glucocorticoids, actinomycin D, and, to a lesser extent, cycloheximide. On the other hand, AS induction is unaffected by an excess of citrulline or the inhibitor of iNOS, N omega-methyl-L-arginine. Our results show the urea cycle enzymes AS and AL confer cells with the capacity to produce NO without a need for exogenous arginine. In conjunction with NOS, citric acid cycle enzymes that covert fumarate to oxaloacetate (fumarase and malate dehydrogenase) and oxaloacetate to aspartate (aspartate transaminase), AS and AL form a novel arginine-citrulline cycle that enables high output NO production by cells.
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PMID:Argininosuccinate synthetase mRNA and activity are induced by immunostimulants in vascular smooth muscle. Role in the regeneration or arginine for nitric oxide synthesis. 751 85

Nitric oxide (NO) has been implicated as a mediator of hemodynamic and metabolic changes associated with endotoxemia and inflammation. In vitro studies suggest that NO inhibits hepatocyte protein synthesis but the role of NO in the regulation of hepatic protein synthesis in vivo is not known. In this study, rats were given endotoxin or saline after pretreatment with the NO synthase inhibitor NG-nitro-L-arginine or solvent, and plasma levels of nitrite (NO2), nitrate (NO3), and aspartate aminotransferase and hepatic protein synthesis rate in vivo were measured after 4 and 10 hours. The NG-nitro-L-arginine effectively blocked the increase in serum NO2/NO3 seen in endotoxemia and also inhibited the increase in hepatic protein synthesis in endotoxemic rats. The aspartate aminotransferase levels were elevated in endotoxemic rats pretreated with NG-nitro-L-arginine. Results support previous reports of a protective effect of NO on the liver in endotoxemia and suggest that NO may upregulate hepatic protein synthesis in vivo. Further study is needed to clarify the reason for the apparent difference between the effect of NO on hepatic protein synthesis in vivo and in vitro.
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PMID:Nitric oxide may upregulate in vivo hepatic protein synthesis during endotoxemia. 767 68

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha is a principal mediator of the pathophysiological effects of endotoxemia and endotoxin shock. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha also contributes to the stimulation of nitric oxide synthesis by the induction of the enzyme nitric oxide synthase in a variety of tissues. Although the importance of tumor necrosis factor-alpha in the induction of nitric oxide synthase activity in vitro is well known, its role in in vivo nitric oxide synthesis has not been convincingly established. We were interested in determining whether tumor necrosis factor-alpha plays a significant role in the in vivo induction of nitric oxide synthesis. In Corynebacterium parvum-primed mice, lipopolysaccharide injection resulted in elevated serum tumor necrosis factor-alpha levels early and increased hepatic enzyme release (641 +/- 80 IU AST/L; 22.7 +/- 1.9 IU ornithine carbamoyltransferase per liter) and plasma nitrite and nitrate (804 +/- 84 mumol/L) 5 hr after lipopolysaccharide injection. Polyclonal rabbit anti-mouse anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha reduced in vivo tumor necrosis factor-alpha levels (1 hr, 7,332 +/- 1,492 U tumor necrosis factor-alpha per milliliter) and reduced nitric oxide synthesis as measured by plasma nitrite and nitrate (352 +/- 69 mumol/L). Polyclonal rabbit anti-mouse anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha also reduced lipopolysaccharide-induced hepatic enzyme release (428 +/- 33 IU AST/L; 16.0 +/- 2.5 IU ornithine carbamoyltransferase per liter). NG-monomethyl-L-arginine, a competitive inhibitor of nitric oxide synthesis, also decreased plasma nitrite and nitrate (104 +/- 9 mumol/L) but increased the lipopolysaccharide-induced hepatic injury (797 +/- 66 IU AST/L; 33.1 +/- 2.1 IU ornithine carbamoyltransferase per liter).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Tumor necrosis factor-alpha regulates in vivo nitric oxide synthesis and induces liver injury during endotoxemia. 792 8

Nitric oxide (NO) is a readily diffusible, short-lived free radical with a multitude of organ-specific regulatory functions. Within the hepatocyte, NO production is associated with inhibition of mitochondrial electron transport enzyme activity, activation of soluble guanylyl cyclase, and inhibition of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase. However, while NO can regulate a number of hepatocyte functions, it is unknown whether NO production is hepatoprotective or hepatotoxic. Using isolated rat hepatocytes in primary short-term culture, we investigated the role of cytokine-mediated NO production in toxin-induced hepatocyte injury. In a model of acetaminophen (AM) hepatotoxicity, inhibition of cytokine-mediated NO production potentiated AM injury. In the presence of an inhibitor of NO synthesis, NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA), hepatocyte release of aspartate aminotransferase was increased twofold in the presence of 4.0 and 8.0 mM AM (P < 0.01). In addition, in the presence of AM, cytokine-mediated NO production was increased by 75% over baseline (P < 0.01). Maximum NO synthesis occurred at an AM concentration of 2 mM. A potential mechanism for the hepatoprotective effect of NO centers on its role in glutathione (GSH) homeostasis. In the presence of increasing concentrations of AM, hepatocyte GSH stores decreased in parallel in both control and cytokine-stimulated hepatocytes (ANOVA, P < 0.01). When cytokine-stimulated hepatocytes were exposed to 50 microM L-NMMA, NO release was ablated, while glutathione levels decreased by threefold in comparison to controls (P < 0.01). In the presence of increasing concentrations of AM, cytokine-treated cells exposed to 50 microM L-NMMA exhibited significant decremental decreases in GSH levels (P < 0.05). These data suggest that inhibition of cytokine-mediated NO production potentiates AM hepatoxicity by modulation of hepatocyte glutathione stores.
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PMID:Nitric oxide decreases oxidant-mediated hepatocyte injury. 801 16

Nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandins (PG) both possess the ability to induce vasodilatation and prevent the aggregation of platelets. The synthesis of these substances is increased following in vivo lipopolysaccharide (LPS) infusion, but their function during sepsis is incompletely understood. We studied the role of NO and PG in a murine model of chronic hepatic inflammation (Corynebacterium parvum injection), which is known to progress to sudden hepatic necrosis after LPS injection. NO synthesis, which is induced in hepatocytes by C. parvum treatment and in nonparenchymal cells by LPS treatment, was inhibited using NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA). High-dose aspirin (ASA) was used to block PG synthesis. Treatment with L-NMMA or ASA alone, in the absence of LPS, resulted in no increase in hepatic injury. C. parvum-treated mice that received both L-NMMA and ASA without LPS developed marked hepatic damage as reflected by increased hepatocellular enzyme release (aspartate aminotransferase and L-ornithine carbamoyl-transferase). Marked hepatic damage was seen after LPS administration, and ASA pretreatment alone had no effect on the LPS-induced hepatic injury, whereas L-NMMA markedly increased the hepatic damage. The combination of L-NMMA and ASA after LPS resulted in the greatest hepatocellular enzyme release, characterized histologically by intravascular thrombosis with diffuse infarction and necrosis. Simultaneous treatment with either PGI2 or L-arginine partially prevented this injury. These data demonstrate that NO and PG function synergistically to maintain hepatocellular integrity; thus increased synthesis of these mediators protects the liver from the pathophysiological effects of LPS in this model.
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PMID:Nitric oxide and prostaglandins interact to prevent hepatic damage during murine endotoxemia. 802 33

Earlier studies showed that hepatotoxicant-treated experimental animals were more susceptible than controls to the lethal effects of bacterial endotoxin. The exact mechanisms of this effect were not understood. In this paper we showed that nitric oxide (.NO) was produced in whole blood and in liver tissues of rats that had been treated with a nonlethal dose of CCl4 (1.3 g/kg) followed by a low dose of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (100 micrograms/kg). EPR spectroscopy was used in this study to detect nitrosyl-protein complexes. Hemoglobin-nitrosyl complexes were detected in both whole blood and liver. By performing analyses of EPR spectra obtained from hepatocytes exposed to .NO, we were able to identify EPR signals attributable to nitrosyl-cytochrome P420 in rat liver. We found that nitrosyl complex formation in red blood cells and liver was inhibited by treatment with NG-mono-methyl-L-arginine, suggesting enzymatic biosynthesis of .NO. A small but significant inhibition of nitrosyl complex formation by gadolinium trichloride pretreatment was found in the liver, suggesting that Kupffer cells were also involved in .NO biosynthesis, because this treatment decreased Kupffer cells. There was a synergistic effect of CCl4 and LPS on the serum levels of the hepatic enzymes aspartate aminotransferase, alanine amino-transferase, lactate dehydrogenase, and sorbitol dehydrogenase, which are indices of parenchymal cell damage. NG-Mono-methyl-L-arginine treatment increased these hepatic enzyme activities, suggesting a protective role for .NO. EPR resonances at g approximately 2.48, 2.29, and 1.91, due to low-spin cytochromes P450/P420 (FE3+), were decreased in the livers of LPS-induced rats that had been previously treated with CCl4, indicating cytochrome P450/P420 destruction or at least a change in the valence state of the cytochrome P450/P420 heme groups to Fe2+ in the presence of .NO. Because nitrosyl-cytochrome P450 is not stable, the concomitant detection of nitrosyl-cytochrome P420 (Fe2+) could account, at least in part, for the decrease of the ferric low-spin heme groups. Our novel observations of hepatic nitrosyl species suggest that .NO plays an important role during hepatic injury caused by CCl4 in hosts exposed to endotoxin.
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PMID:Nitric oxide production during endotoxic shock in carbon tetrachloride-treated rats. 807 2

The effects of ischemic preconditioning on rat liver integrity, as well as the implication of nitric oxide (NO) and adenosine in this process, has been evaluated. Preconditioning before ischemia-reperfusion prevented the increases in alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels, but did not modify blood flow. Adenosine or NO administration previous to hepatic ischemia-reperfusion simulated the effect of preconditioning, whereas inhibition of adenosine or NO synthesis abolished the protective effect of hepatic preconditioning. Nevertheless, inhibition of adenosine and simultaneous administration of NO in preconditioned animals offered similar results to those found in the preconditioned group, indicating that, in the absence of adenosine, NO is able to maintain the preconditioning benefits. It is suggested that, in preconditioning, adenosine stimulates NO production to protect against the injury associated with ischemia-reperfusion.
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PMID:Protective effect of preconditioning on the injury associated to hepatic ischemia-reperfusion in the rat: role of nitric oxide and adenosine. 909

1. We compared the effects of calpain inhibitor I (inhibitor of the proteolysis of I kappa B and, hence, of the activation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF kappa B) and dexamethasone on (i) the circulatory failure, (ii) multiple organ dysfunction and (iii) induction of the inducible isoforms of nitric oxide (NO) synthase (iNOS) and cyclo-oxygenase (COX-2) in anaesthetized rats with endotoxic shock. 2. Injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS, E. coli, 10 mg kg-1, i.v.) resulted in hypotension and a reduction of the pressor responses elicited by noradrenaline. This circulatory dysfunction was attenuated by pretreatment of LPS-rats with calpain inhibitor I (10 mg kg-1, i.v., 2 h before LPS) or dexamethasone (1 mg kg-1, i.v.). 3. Endotoxaemia also caused rises in the serum levels of (i) urea and creatinine (renal dysfunction), (ii) alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (hepatocellular injury), bilirubin and gamma-glutamyl transferase (gamma GT) (liver dysfunction), (iii) lipase (pancreatic injury) and (iv) lactate. Calpain inhibitor I and dexamethasone attenuated the liver injury, the pancreatic injury, the lactic acidosis as well as the hypoglycaemia caused by LPS. Dexamethasone, but not calpain inhibitor I, reduced the renal dysfunction caused by LPS. 4. Endotoxaemia for 6 h resulted in a substantial increase in iNOS and COX-2 protein and activity in lung and liver, which was attenuated in LPS-rats pretreated with calpain inhibitor I or dexamethasone. 5. Thus, calpain inhibitor I and dexamethasone attenuate (i) the circulatory failure, (ii) the multiple organ dysfunction (liver and pancreatic dysfunction/injury, lactic acidosis, hypoglycaemia), as well as (iii) the induction of iNOS and COX-2 protein and activity in rats with endotoxic shock. We propose that prevention of the activation of NF-kappa B in vivo may be useful in the therapy of circulatory shock or of disorders associated with local or systemic inflammation.
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PMID:Effect of calpain inhibitor I, an inhibitor of the proteolysis of I kappa B, on the circulatory failure and multiple organ dysfunction caused by endotoxin in the rat. 920 36

The ability of carbonaceous particles (AST-120), originally developed as an enteral adsorbent of uremic toxins, to quench nitric oxide (NO) was tested. NO in solutions prepared by two methods [NO gas bubbling and NO generating system, i.e., decomposition of 1-hydroxy-2-oxo-3-(aminopropyl)-3-isopropyl-1-triazene] were determined by a NO-specific reduction of carboxy-2-phenyl-4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-imidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide using an electron paramagnetic resonance spectrometry. NO concentrations were less in samples containing increasing concentrations of AST-120. In a separate study, nitrite concentrations in lipopolysaccharide-treated RAW264 cells were significantly less in incubation medium containing AST-120. Thus, AST-120 may be applicable as an enteral anti-NO agent.
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PMID:Quenching of nitric oxide by an oral carbonaceous adsorbent. 924 31

To evaluate the role of nitric oxide (NO) in hepatic microcirculation and liver injury during endotoxemia, we studied O2 transport in the hepatic microcirculation of endotoxin-infused rats. Rats were continuously infused with Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (0.8 mg/kg/h) for 7 hours. LPS increased the plasma levels of NO2- + NO3- and aspartate transaminase (AST), and decreased the bile flow rate and hepatic adenosine triphosphate (ATP) level. Hepatic microcirculation was evaluated by two methods: reflectance spectrophotometry showed a decrease in the oxygenation of hemoglobin (Hb) in the liver, and dual-spot microspectroscopy indicated that LPS administration decreased blood velocity, the oxygenation of Hb, and O2 release from sinusoids to hepatocytes. The observed decreases in the O2 transport parameters were prominent in pericentral sinusoids. All of these phenomena were further aggravated by the administration of N(w)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) (5 mg/kg/h) plus LPS, and by aminoguanidine (AMG) (5 mg/kg/h) plus LPS, and these could be reversed by the concomitant administration of L-arginine (L-Arg) (100 mg/kg/h). These results suggest that deterioration of hepatic oxygen transport and liver function induced by endotoxin can be ameliorated by NO.
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PMID:Role of nitric oxide in oxygen transport in rat liver sinusoids during endotoxemia. 925 43


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