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)

This study examines the effects of three calcium channel blockers (verapamil, nifedipine and diltiazem) on isolated rat hepatocytes exposed to ethanol. In the first part of our study, hepatocytes were incubated with increasing concentrations of ethanol (100, 300, 500, 1000 mM) for varying times. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release were measured to evaluate the cytotoxic effects of ethanol. The concentration of 300 mM and time of incubation of 45 min were chosen for cytoprotection experiments in which calcium channel blockers, at two different concentrations, were added to the medium 30 min prior to the addition of ethanol. ALT, AST and LDH release as well as lipid peroxidation and cellular reduced glutathione (GSH) were measured. Nifedipine and verapamil (25 microM) reduced ALT, AST and LDH activities. The highest dose of diltiazem (50 microM) was more effective than the lowest one (25 microM). Ethanol caused a significant depletion of cellular GSH content as well as a moderate enhancement of lipid peroxidation. While none of the three calcium channel blockers was able to restore the decrease in GSH levels, diltiazem (25 microM) and nifedipine (50 microM) showed the greatest effect, significantly reducing lipid peroxidation.
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PMID:Hepatotoxicity of ethanol: protective effect of calcium channel blockers in isolated hepatocytes. 913 76

Hyperthermia has been used to treat cancer in the liver. However, significant hepatotoxicity occurs at a therapeutic temperature of 42-43 degrees C. We have proposed that heat toxicity is the result of oxidative stress from superoxide generation with resultant lipid peroxidation. Further, iron release from liver iron stores (ferritin) appears to play a central role in hyperthermic toxicity. In this study, rat livers were perfused in situ at 37 or 42.5 degrees C with and without deferoxamine for 1 h with an asanguinous perfusate. Oxidative stress was assessed by the efflux of glutathione (GSH) into the perfusage. Prior studies by Skibba et al. (1989a, 1991) showed that perfusage equivalents of GSH were primarily present as oxidized glutathione (GSSG). Lipid peroxidation was assessed by the measurement of aldehydes appearing in the perfusate and formation of hydrocarbon gases (ethane and pentane) in the perfusion chamber head space. Liver injury was assessed by the leakage of cytosolic enzymes, AST and LDH, into the perfusate. Livers perfused at 42.5 degrees C showed significant rises (p < 0.05) in AST and LDH after 60 min of perfusion but perfusion at 42.5 degrees C with deferoxamine added, was not significantly different from perfusion at 37 degrees C. Perfusion at 42.5 degrees C caused an increase in GSH into the perfusate at a level significantly (p < 0.05) greater than at 37 degrees C. GSH levels in the liver after 60 min of perfusion decreased from 4.82 +/- 0.76 microM/gm at 37 degrees C to 1.48 +/- 0.54 microM/gm at 42.5 degrees C (p < 0.05) but only fell to 3.42 +/- 1.23 microM/gm at 42.5 degrees C with deferoxamine added. Efflux of iron into the perfusate increase significantly with time and temperature. Low molecular weight chelated iron within the liver after perfusion increased from 5.88 +/- 1.46 nM/gm at 37 degrees C to 25.8 nM/gm at 42.5 degrees C (p < 0.05). Perfusate total aldehyde levels increased from 0.085 +/- 0.056 to 0.32 +/- 0.09 microM/ml after 60 min at 37 degrees C and 0.87 +/- 0.45 to 2.01 +/- 0.90 microM/ml at 42.5 degrees C (n = 8). There was a significant decrease in total aldehyde levels at 42.5 degrees C with the addition of deferoxamine to the perfusate, 0.36 +/- 0.14 to 0.86 +/- 0.27 microM/ml, when compared to 42.5 degrees C levels (p < 0.05). Levels of ethane and pentane in the perfusion chamber head space showed no significant changes with time or temperature of perfusion. The data suggest that lipid peroxidation may play a causal role in hyperthermia induced liver toxicity and that iron plays a major role in this injury. Failure of hydrocarbon analysis to support this conclusion appears related to the use of membrane oxygenators.
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PMID:Liver hyperthermia and oxidative stress: role of iron and aldehyde production. 914 47

Effects of acute physical exercise on the acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity were examined in adult female rats. Rats were forced to move at a speed of 10 m/min for 2 hr in a rotating cage. Immediately following the exercise bout rats were treated with acetaminophen (APAP; 700 mg/kg, i.p.). The physical exercise enhanced the hepatotoxicity of APAP as shown by increases in alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities measured 24 hr following the treatment. A significant decrease in hepatic glutathione (GSH) was observed in the rats forced to exercise suggesting that the enhancement of APAP hepatotoxicity was associated with the depression of this endogenous tripeptide. The role of adrenergic stimulation in the exercise-induced hepatic GSH depression was examined by pretreating the animals with a receptor specific adrenergic antagonist, such as prazosin HCl (15 mg/kg, i.p.), propranolol HCl (15 mg/kg, i.p.), and yohimbine HCl (15 mg/kg, i.p.) 15 min prior to the exercise bout, but neither of the antagonists prevented the GSH depression. Administration of alpha-tocopherol acetate (450 mg/kg/day for 3 days and 150 mg/kg on day 4, i.p.) did not affect the exercise-induced GSH depression or lipid peroxidation in liver homogenates as determined by increases in malondialdehyde formation. These results suggest that neither adrenergic stimulation nor oxidative stress plays a significant role in the enhancement of APAP hepatotoxicity and hepatic GSH depression induced by acute physical exercise.
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PMID:Potentiation of acetaminophen hepatotoxicity by acute physical exercise in rats. 917 66

The relationship was investigated between biochemical and morphological changes in chloroform (CHCl3)- and carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced liver damage. The time courses of hepatic microsomal cytochrome P450 (CYP) content, hepatic microsomal CYP2E1 activity, hepatic reduced glutathione (GSH) content, plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities were examined in relation to the liver morphology in rats orally treated with CHCl3 or CCl4 (3.35 mmol/kg). The CYP content and the activity of CYP2E1 markedly decreased in the CCl4-treated rats 3 h after treatment compared to much lower decreases in the CHCl3-treated rats. The hepatic GSH content was decreased to a similar extent in both groups of rats at 3 h after treatment; in the CCl4-treated rats, the GSH content continued to decrease, reaching a minimum at 24 h and without attaining the normal level at 72 h after treatment. By contrast, hepatic GSH content in the CHCl3-treated rats began to increase from 6 h, attaining complete recovery 48 h after treatment. Plasma ALT and AST activities were significantly elevated by CCl4 as early as 3 h after treatment, while the activities in the CHCl3-treated rats did not increase until 6 h after treatment. In both groups of rats, ALT and AST activities reached a maximum at 24 h, and gradually decreased, remaining at abnormal levels at 72 h. Hepatic cells in the CCl4-treated rats were found to be necrotic as early as 3 h post-treatment, whereas few or no morphological changes appeared in the liver of CHCl3-treated rats. The extent of necrosis was at a maximum 24 h after treatment in both CHCl3- and CCl4-treated rats. In addition, some necrotic cells remained in the liver of CCl4-treated rats 72 h after treatment, while the necrosis in the CHCl3-treated rats was almost negligible. The present results indicate that almost the same time-courses of biochemical and morphological changes were followed in rats of both the CHCl3- and CCl4-treated groups.
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PMID:Time courses of hepatic injuries induced by chloroform and by carbon tetrachloride: comparison of biochemical and histopathological changes. 933 1

We examined the effect of gamma-glutamylcysteinylethyl ester (gamma-GCE), which is readily transported into hepatocytes and increases hepatocellular reduced glutathione (GSH) levels, on the progression of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced liver injury in mice in comparison with that of GSH. Administration of more than 160 micromol/kg of gamma-GCE, but not GSH, to mice at 3 h after intraperitoneal injection of CCl4 (1 ml/kg) significantly attenuated increases in serum aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase activities at 24 h after the CCl4 injection. Increases in hepatic lipid peroxide (LPO) concentrations and decreases in hepatic GSH concentrations after the CCl4 injection were significantly diminished by the gamma-GCE (160 micromol/kg) administration, but not by the same dose of GSH. Gamma-GCE, gamma-glutamylcysteine, and cysteine acted as substrates for glutathione peroxidases much less efficiently than GSH in the post-mitochondrial fraction of normal mouse liver cells. These results indicate that gamma-GCE attenuates the progression of CCl4-induced acute liver injury in mice through the maintenance of hepatic GSH levels, leading to inhibition of hepatic LPO formation, which could be due to an efficient utilization of GSH converted from gamma-GCE in the liver cells.
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PMID:Gamma-glutamylcysteinylethyl ester attenuates progression of carbon tetrachloride-induced acute liver injury in mice. 958 92

Prevention of cellular damage after warm ischemia is of major importance in liver transplantation. In this study, we determined the extent to which lipid peroxides contribute to the pathogenesis of hepatic cell damage induced by transient warm ischemia with subsequent reperfusion. In addition, the function and immunohistochemical features of glutathione peroxidase, a potent physiological lipid peroxide scavenger of the liver, was assessed. Reperfusion following 15 or 30 minutes of warm ischemia resulted in a significant elevation in serum and liver lipid peroxidase (LPO) levels. In addition, necrosis of the hepatic periportal area accompanied with remarkable rises in serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were observed. In contrast, 30 min of ischemia without reperfusion caused minimal hepatocellular damage. The adverse changes after ischemia/reperfusion were minimized by pretreatment with superoxide dismutase (SOD). These results indicate that increased lipid peroxidation by production of radicals after reperfusion caused the liver cell damage. After ischemia/reperfusion, liver glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PO) activity was significantly decreased and its location altered in the damaged liver. These findings suggest that GSH-PO contributes significantly to the protection against hepatic reperfusion injuries.
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PMID:Alterations in glutathione peroxidase activity following reperfusion injury to rat liver. 960 29

Age-associated changes in liver injury and post-necrotic regeneration were studied in rats aged 6 and 30 months in a period of 96 h following a dose of thioacetamide (6.6 mmol/kg body weight). Hepatocellular necrosis was detected in both groups by serum aspartate aminotransferase, but the severity of injury was significantly lower (one fourth, p < 0.001) in the oldest. Differences were observed in hepatocyte FAD monooxygenase activity between 6 and 30 months old rats at 24 h (278 versus 170%, p < 0.001, respectively) and also in GSH/GSSG ratio, in protein thiol groups and in malondialdehyde. Glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activities rose markedly in both groups, this increase being slightly lower in the oldest. Superoxide dismutase and catalase did not show significant changes between both groups. At the end of the 96 h experimental period the restoration towards normal of GSG/GSSG, protein thiols malondialdehyde and the activities of Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase and catalase were significantly lower in hepatocytes from 30 months old rats. We summarize that the main age-related changes in the sequenced process of liver injury and regeneration occurred to a lesser extent in severity of injury and delayed response in the post-necrotic restoration of liver function, probably due to a lower increase in antioxidant enzyme system.
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PMID:Aging delays the post-necrotic restoration of liver function. 969 17

The selenium status of sheep was evaluated during the reproductive stage in a region of low selenium level. Serum selenium concentration, whole blood glutathione peroxidase activity (GSH-Px), which is a good indicator of protection against oxidative damage, as well as the activities of creatine kinase (CK) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), the plasma indicators of muscle damage, were evaluated in a group of ewes during gestation and lactation and in their lambs. The selenium requirements of ewes were found to increase during lactation. There were no differences in GSH-Px activity between the experimental and the control groups throughout the reproductive stage. In the second half of pregnancy GSH-Px activity was subnormal. In spite of this, no evidence of existing pathologic conditions associated with selenium deficiency was found, since the muscle markers CK and AST were within the normal range. In the same way, no distinct symptoms of nutritional myopathy were observed in the lambs, suggesting that the low selenium level found in the ewes did not cause alterations in their development.
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PMID:The influence of reproductive stage on the selenium status of sheep in a low-selenium region. 970 15

Temporal variation in metabolism and hepatotoxicity of acetaminophen (APAP) was examined using male ICR mice. Animals were injected with a single dose of APAP (400 mg/kg, i.p.) at 08:00, 14:00 or 20:00 h. APAP at this dose was markedly hepatotoxic to mice when administered at 20:00 h as determined by increases in serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities, and by decreases in hepatic glucose-6-phosphatase (G-6-Pase) activity. However, mice appeared to be entirely insensitive to an identical dose of APAP given either at 08:00 or 14:00 h. Hepatic glutathione (GSH) level was significantly higher at 08:00, but no difference in GSH levels between 14:00 and 20:00 h was observed in normal mice. APAP and its metabolites in blood were monitored using HPLC for 3 h following the treatment. There were no significant differences in the plasma concentrations of APAP, APAP-glucuronide, APAP-sulfate, or APAP-mercapturate among the mice treated with this drug at 08:00, 14:00 or 20:00 h. However, the APAP-cysteine and APAP-GSH levels measured at 1 h following the APAP treatment were significantly lower in mice treated with this analgesic either at 14:00 or 20:00 h. In vitro hepatic microsomal p-nitrophenol hydroxylase activities were not different between 08:00, 14:00 and 20:00 h. But ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase and aminopyrine N-demethylase activities measured at 14:00 h were significantly lower than those of 08:00 or 20:00 h. Thus, the greater hepatotoxicity of APAP administered at 20:00 h appears to be related to the marked decrease in hepatic GSH at this time period, whereas the simultaneous reduction in APAP activation may be responsible for the lack of hepatotoxicity in mice treated with this analgesic at 14:00 h. These results suggest that the temporal variation in hepatotoxicity and metabolism of APAP is determined by interactions of multiple factors including the hepatic GSH level and drug metabolizing activities.
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PMID:Temporal variation in hepatotoxicity and metabolism of acetaminophen in mice. 970 5

Effects of a single dose of betaine on the chloroform-induced hepatotoxicity were examined in adult male ICR mice. Administration of betaine (1000 mg/kg, ip) 1 to 7 hr prior to a chloroform challenge (0.25 ml/kg, ip) resulted in remarkable enhancement of hepatotoxicity as indicated by increases in serum sorbitol dehydrogenase (SDH), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities. The potentiation of hepatotoxicity was most significant when mice were treated with betaine 4 hr earlier than chloroform. However, a 24 hr prior administration of betaine protected the animals from induction of the chloroform hepatotoxicity. Thus, its effect appeared to be highly dependent on the time lapse from the betaine pretreatment to the challenge of mice with chloroform. Betaine treated either 4 or 24 hr prior to sacrifice did not alter the hepatic contents of cytochrome P-450, cytochrome b5, or NADPH cytochrome P-450 reductase activity. Accordingly the hepatic microsomal p-nitroanisole O-demethylase, aminopyrine N-demethylase, or p-nitrophenol hydroxylase activities were not influenced by the betaine pretreatment. Betaine was shown not to affect any of the enzyme activities associated with glutathione (GSH) conjugation reaction, such as glutathione S-transferases (GSTs), glutathione disulfide (GSSG) reductase and GSH peroxidase irrespective of the time of its administration. When betaine was administered to mice 2-6 hr prior to sacrifice, hepatic GSH level, but not plasma GSH, was decreased significantly. Enhancement of the chloroform hepatotoxicity by betaine correlated well with the reduction in hepatic GSH levels. Both hepatic and plasma GSH levels were elevated in mice 24 hr following the betaine treatment. The results suggest that betaine affects induction of the chloroform hepatotoxicity by modulating the availability of hepatic GSH, which appears to be associated with its role in the transsulfuration pathway in the liver.
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PMID:Effects of singly administered betaine on hepatotoxicity of chloroform in mice. 973 16


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