Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:2.6.1.2 (alanine aminotransferase)
 26,722 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Under certain circumstances, segmented neutrophils (PMNs) injure extrahepatic tissue by releasing toxic oxygen species and degradative enzymes. The authors used an isolated, perfused rat liver preparation to determine whether PMNs might injure the liver. Livers from fasted rats were perfused with Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate buffer (pH 7.4) containing 3% bovine serum albumin (BSA) in a recirculating system. Rat peritoneal PMNs (4 x 10(8] or vehicle (Hank's balanced salt solution [HBSS], pH 7.35) were added, and liver injury was assessed 90 minutes later by release of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) into the perfusion medium and histopathologic analysis of liver sections. Perfusion of livers receiving only HBSS for 90 minutes resulted in a small increase in ALT activity in the perfusion medium but did not significantly alter histologic features of liver sections. Addition of unstimulated PMNs did not increase further the ALT activity and, with the exception of vascular neutrophilia, did not significantly change the histomorphology compared with controls. When PMNs activated with a combination of phorbol myristate acetate (PMA, 31 ng/ml) and lithocholate (100 mumol/l [micromolar]) were added to the perfusion system, however, livers released greater amounts of ALT than those perfused with PMA, lithocholate, and HBSS. Activated PMNs caused a transient reduction in flow of perfusion medium that lasted approximately 5 to 15 minutes. Liver sections had multifocal to coalescing foci of moderate to severe, acute hepatocellular necrosis associated with the areas of intense sinusoidal neutrophilia. In addition a second type of lesion was observed and was characterized by triangular foci of necrosis located adjacent to periportal regions of sinusoids or portal veins containing neutrophilic thrombi. These lesions were void of PMNs and were consistent with infarcts. A combination of superoxide dismutase and catalase added to the perfusion medium (500 U/ml each) prevented the elevation in ALT activity but not the transient reduction in flow. These results indicate that activated PMNs may cause liver injury by an oxygen radical-dependent mechanism. It is unclear whether PMN-derived oxygen radicals, hepatocellular-derived oxygen species resulting from reduced tissue perfusion and reperfusion, or both are involved in the pathogenesis.
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PMID:Activated neutrophils injure the isolated, perfused rat liver by an oxygen radical-dependent mechanism. 195 24

This study examines the effect of chronic alcohol consumption on nitric oxide release from the liver of rats with or without lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (Escherichia coli) treatment. Reactive nitrogen intermediates (RNIs) in plasma were monitored with an NOx Analyzer, and nitric oxide (NO) production was measured as nitrite or nitrite + nitrate accumulation in perfusates of the perfused liver, and in supernatants of the freshly isolated hepatic cells after incubation for 3 hr in Hank's balanced salt solution buffer containing 1 mM L-arginine. RNI concentration in plasma of control rats was 32.0 +/- 3.4 microM (mean +/- SE). Livers from diet-fed control rats produced RNIs at the barely detectable rate of 7.8 +/- 1.5 nmol/hr x g wet liver. Six hr after administration of LPS (1 mg/kg, i.v.), plasma RNI levels in diet-fed control rats increased to 426.9 +/- 29.4 microM, and RNI release from the perfused liver was also markedly elevated to 97.7 +/- 7.7 nmol/hr x wet g liver, indicating hepatic NO release as a potentially important source for the increased RNI in plasma. The presence of NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (0.5-1 mM) or the absence of L-arginine in the perfusate inhibited LPS-induced stimulation of RNI release. EGTA (1 mM) had little effect, indicating that the increased RNI release was likely to be due to inducible NO synthase activity. The release of RNIs by freshly isolated Kupffer cells increased 13-fold, and this small cell mass contributed almost half of the hepatic RNI production under these conditions. Plasma ALT concentration was elevated after LPS administration, indicating incipient liver damage.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Chronic alcohol administration stimulates nitric oxide formation in the rat liver with or without pretreatment by lipopolysaccharide. 754 48

Administration of pyruvate, an effective scavenger of reactive oxygen species, has been shown to be salutary in numerous models of redox-mediated tissue or organ injury. Pyruvate, however, is unstable in solution and, hence, is not attractive for development as a therapeutic agent. Herein, ethyl pyruvate, which is thought to be more stable than the parent compound, was formulated in a calcium-containing balanced salt solution [Ringer ethyl pyruvate solution (REPS)] and evaluated in a murine model of hemorrhagic shock and resuscitation (HS/R). Resuscitation with REPS instead of Ringer lactate solution (RLS) significantly improved survival at 24 h and abrogated bacterial translocation to mesenteric lymph nodes and the development of increased ileal mucosal permeability to FITC-labeled dextran (4,000 Da) at 4 h. Mice treated with REPS instead of RLS also had lower circulating levels of alanine aminotransferase at 4 h. Treatment with REPS instead of RLS decreased activation of nuclear factor-kappaB in liver and colonic mucosa after HS/R and also decreased the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase, tumor necrosis factor, cyclooxygenase-2, and interleukin-6 mRNA in liver, ileal mucosa, and/or colonic mucosa. These data support the view that resuscitation with REPS modulates the inflammatory response and decreases hepatocellular and gut mucosal injury in mice subjected to HS/R.
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PMID:Ethyl pyruvate modulates inflammatory gene expression in mice subjected to hemorrhagic shock. 1206 9

Ethyl pyruvate dissolved in a calcium-containing balanced salt solution--Ringer's ethyl pyruvate solution (REPS)--ameliorates ileal mucosal hyperpermeability and decreases the expression of several proinflammatory genes when it is used instead of Ringer's lactate solution (RLS) to resuscitate mice from hemorrhagic shock. Herein, we sought to determine whether delayed treatment with REPS would be beneficial in a murine model of acute alcoholic liver injury associated with binge drinking. Mice were gavaged with 3 doses of ethanol (5 g/kg each dose) over a 12-hour period and then randomized to treatment with 3 intraperitoneal doses of REPS or RLS over 12 hours. Compared with sham-treated controls not subjected to alcohol intoxication, RLS-treated mice demonstrated histologic evidence of fatty change and piecemeal necrosis of hepatocytes in the liver, as well as a significant increase in the plasma concentration of alanine aminotransferase. Biochemical changes induced by alcohol administration included increased hepatic lipid peroxidation, nuclear factor-kappaB activation, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha messenger RNA expression. All of these alcohol-induced effects were ameliorated by treatment with REPS instead of RLS. These data support the view that treatment with REPS ameliorates the hepatic inflammatory response and decreases hepatocellular injury in mice subjected to acute alcohol intoxication.
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PMID:Ethyl pyruvate ameliorates acute alcohol-induced liver injury and inflammation in mice. 1464 31

Ethyl pyruvate has been shown to ameliorate liver injury and decrease expression of several proinflammatory cytokines when used to treat mice with hemorrhagic shock or alcoholic hepatitis. Herein we sought to determine whether delayed treatment with ethyl pyruvate dissolved in a Ringer's-type balanced salt solution--Ringer's ethyl pyruvate solution (REPS)--would be beneficial in a murine model of common bile duct ligation (CBDL)-induced liver injury. Male C57BL/6 mice were subjected to a sham (n = 6) procedure or CBDL (n = 27). Twenty-four hours after operation, mice subjected to CBDL were randomized to receive treatment with either REPS (40 mg/kg of ethyl pyruvate per dose) or Ringer's lactate solution (RLS) every 8 h over a 72 h period. Compared with sham-treated controls, CBDL in RLS-treated mice was associated with histological evidence of hepatocellular necrosis as well as significant increases in the plasma concentrations of alanine aminotransferase and total bilirubin. Relative to sham-treated controls, CBDL in RLS-treated mice also was associated with increased hepatic lipid peroxidation and increased hepatic expression of transcripts for TNF, IL-6, and iNOS. All of these changes were significantly attenuated by delayed treatment with REPS after CBDL. In the RLS-treated group, CBDL was associated with increased NF-kappaB DNA binding in nuclear extracts prepared from liver tissue. Treatment with REPS increased NF-kappaB DNA binding still further. CBDL was associated with increased hepatocellular apoptosis in both the RLS- and REPS-treated groups. These data support the view that ethyl pyruvate ameliorates hepatic inflammation, lipid peroxidation, and necrosis in mice subjected to CBDL. Ethyl pyruvate warrants further evaluation as an adjunctive treatment to ameliorate liver injury from extrahepatic biliary obstruction.
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PMID:Ethyl pyruvate reduces liver injury in a murine model of extrahepatic cholestasis. 1537 94