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

Ob/ob mice, a model for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), develop intestinal bacterial overgrowth and overexpress tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha). In animal models for alcoholic fatty liver disease (AFLD), decontaminating the intestine or inhibiting TNF-alpha improves AFLD. Because AFLD and NAFLD may have a similar pathogenesis, treatment with a probiotic (to modify the intestinal flora) or anti-TNF antibodies (to inhibit TNF-alpha activity) may improve NAFLD in ob/ob mice. To evaluate this hypothesis, 48 ob/ob mice were given either a high-fat diet alone (ob/ob controls) or the same diet + VSL#3 probiotic or anti-TNF antibodies for 4 weeks. Twelve lean littermates fed a high-fat diet served as controls. Treatment with VSL#3 or anti-TNF antibodies improved liver histology, reduced hepatic total fatty acid content, and decreased serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels. These benefits were associated with decreased hepatic expression of TNF-alpha messenger RNA (mRNA) in mice treated with anti-TNF antibodies but not in mice treated with VSL#3. Nevertheless, both treatments reduced activity of Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), a TNF-regulated kinase that promotes insulin resistance, and decreased the DNA binding activity of nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB), the target of IKKbeta, another TNF-regulated enzyme that causes insulin resistance. Consistent with treatment-related improvements in hepatic insulin resistance, fatty acid beta-oxidation and uncoupling protein (UCP)-2 expression decreased after treatment with VSL#3 or anti-TNF antibodies. In conclusion, these results support the concept that intestinal bacteria induce endogenous signals that play a pathogenic role in hepatic insulin resistance and NAFLD and suggest novel therapies for these common conditions.
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PMID:Probiotics and antibodies to TNF inhibit inflammatory activity and improve nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. 1288 98

Trypanosoma cruzi-infected mice display increased susceptibility to shock induced by injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), anti-CD3, or resulting from interleukin (IL)-10-defective response to the parasite itself, but the basis of such susceptibility remains unknown. Herein, we tested the susceptibility of mice inoculated with virulent and avirulent T. cruzi to staphylococcal enterotoxins (SE), potent inducers of inflammatory cytokine secretion. Mice infected with T. cruzi CL-strain or inoculated with the avirulent clone CL-14, a clone that does not induce disease or polyclonal lymphocyte activation, succumb suddenly to low doses of staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB), but not to staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA). High plasma levels of TNF, IFN-gamma, and liver transaminases alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were found in these mice, indicating lethal toxic shock. Sensitization to shock required inoculation of live avirulent trypomastigotes and a time interval before challenge with SEB. We found no prior skewing of T cell receptor (TCR) Vbeta-repertoire in CL-14-inoculated mice that could be responsible for sensitization. Splenocytes from CL-14-inoculated mice proliferated more under anti-Vbeta8 than anti-TCRbeta stimulation when compared with normal mice, but were suppressed to SEB stimulation. Both SEB and anti-Vbeta8 antibodies stimulated splenocytes from T. cruzi-inoculated mice to secrete higher levels of inflammatory cytokines than normal controls. Taken together, our results show that T. cruzi inoculation can sensitize mice to lethal SEB-induced shock even in the absence of tissue damage, polyclonal lymphocyte activation, or previously increased levels of inflammatory cytokines, and they suggest that altered reactivity of Vbeta8 lymphocytes may be involved in the phenomenon.
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PMID:Trypanosoma cruzi sensitizes mice to fulminant SEB-induced shock: overrelease of inflammatory cytokines and independence of Chagas' disease or TCR Vbeta-usage. 1257 26

Although thromboxanes (TXs), whose synthesis is regulated by cyclooxygenase (COX), have been suggested to promote inflammation in the liver, little is known about the role of TXA(2) in leukocyte endothelial interaction during endotoxemia. The present study was conducted to investigate the role of TXA(2) as well as that of COX in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced hepatic microcirculatory dysfunction in male C57Bl/6 mice. We observed during in vivo fluorescence microscopic study that LPS caused significant accumulation of leukocytes adhering to the hepatic microvessels and non-perfused sinusoids. Levels of serum alanine transaminase (ALT) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) also increased. LPS raised the TXB(2) level in the perfusate from isolated perfused liver. A TXA(2) synthase inhibitor, OKY-046, and a TXA(2) receptor antagonist, S-1452, reduced LPS-induced hepatic microcirculatory dysfunction by inhibiting TNF alpha production. OKY-046 suppressed the expression of an intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 in an LPS-treated liver. In thromboxane prostanoid receptor-knockout mice, hepatic responses to LPS were minimized in comparison with those in their wild-type counterparts. In addition, a selective COX-1 inhibitor, SC-560, a selective COX-2 inhibitor, NS-398, and indomethacin significantly attenuated hepatic responses to LPS including microcirculatory dysfunction and release of ALT and TNF alpha. The effects of the COX inhibitors on hepatic responses to LPS exhibited results similar to those obtained with TXA(2) synthase inhibitor, and TXA(2) receptor antagonist. In conclusion, these results suggest that TXA(2) is involved in LPS-induced hepatic microcirculatory dysfunction partly through the release of TNF alpha, and that TXA(2) derived from COX-1 and COX-2 could be responsible for the microcirculatory dysfunction during endotoxemia.
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PMID:Role of thromboxane derived from COX-1 and -2 in hepatic microcirculatory dysfunction during endotoxemia in mice. 1475 32

INTRODUCTION: Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is a stress response enzyme, which catalyses the breakdown of heme into biliverdin-IX alpha, carbon monoxide and ferrous iron. Under situations of oxidative stress, heat stress, ischemia/reperfusion injury or endotoxemia, HO-1 has been shown to be induced and to elicit a protective effect. The mechanism of how this protective effect is executed is unknown. RESULTS: HO-1 induction with cobalt protoporphorin (Co-PP) dose-dependently protected against apoptotic cell death as well as neutrophil-mediated oncosis in the galactosamine/endotoxin (Gal/ET) shock model. Induction of HO-1 with Co-PP dose-dependently protected against neutrophil-mediated oncosis as indicated by attenuated ALT release and TNF-mediated apoptotic cell death as indicated by reduced caspase-3 activation. HO-1 induction did not attenuate Gal/ET-induced TNF-alpha formation. Furthermore, a similar protective effect with the high dose of Co-PP was observed when animals were treated with Gal/TNF-alpha. CONCLUSIONS: HO-1 induction attenuates apoptosis and neutrophil-mediated oncosis in the Gal/ET shock model. However, the protective effect is not due to the reduction of TNF-alpha release or the attenuation of neutrophil accumulation in the liver sinusoids.
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PMID:Heme oxygenase-1 induction in hepatocytes and non-parenchymal cells protects against liver injury during endotoxemia. 1496 Jan 94

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

The aim of this study was to assess the antioxidant and antifibrotic effects of chronic administration of aqueous garlic extract on liver fibrosis induced by biliary obstruction in rats. Liver fibrosis was induced in male Wistar albino rats by bile duct ligation and scission (BDL). Aqueous garlic extract (AGE, 1 ml/kg, i.p., corresponding to 250 mg/kg) or saline was administered for 28 days. At the end of the experiment, rats were killed by decapitation. Serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels were determined to assess liver functions and tissue damage, respectively. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) was also assayed in serum samples. Liver tissues were taken for determination of the free radicals, renal malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, an end product of lipid peroxidation; glutathione (GSH) levels, a key antioxidant; and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, as an indirect index of neutrophil infiltration. Hepatic collagen content, as a fibrosis marker was also determined. Serum AST, ALT, LDH, and TNF- alpha levels were elevated in the BDL group as compared to control group, while this increase was significantly decreased by AGE treatment. Hepatic GSH levels, significantly depressed by BDL, were elevated back to control levels in AGE-treated BDL group. Increases in tissue free radical and MDA levels and MPO activity due to BDL were reduced back to control levels by AGE treatment. Similarly, increased hepatic collagen content in the BDL rats was reduced to the level of the control group with AGE treatment. Since AGE administration alleviated the BDL-induced oxidative injury of the liver and improved the hepatic structure and function, it seems likely that AGE with its antioxidant and antifibrotic properties, may be of potential therapeutic value in protecting the liver fibrosis and oxidative injury due to biliary obstruction.
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PMID:Long-term administration of aqueous garlic extract (AGE) alleviates liver fibrosis and oxidative damage induced by biliary obstruction in rats. 1576 83

Nutritional supplementation with glutamine, arginine and their precursors has been proposed to contribute to the protection against ischemia-reperfusion-related injuries. The aim of this study was to evaluate in an isolated perfused rat liver model the preventive effect of a 4-day oral ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate (OKG) supplementation against warm ischemia-reperfusion (I-R) injury, and the involvement of nitric oxide synthesis. Rats were fed a controlled regimen supplemented with either OKG (5 g kg(-1); n=15) or an isonitrogenous mixture of non-essential amino acids (Control; n=6) for 4 days. Livers were subsequently prepared for isolated perfusion experiments, including a 45 min no-flow ischemic period. The OKG-treated group was divided into two groups according to the absence (OKG; n=8) or presence of a NO-synthase inhibitor, L-N(omega)-nitro-arginine methyl ester (OKG L-NAME; n=7) during liver perfusion. Liver cytolysis after ischemia was demonstrated by an elevated alanine aminotransferase release during the last 15 min of reperfusion that was significantly higher in the OKG-L-NAME group. Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF(alpha)) production was transiently increased only in the control group just after ischemia. At the end of the reperfusion period, liver superoxide dismutase activity was significantly lower in the OKG-L-NAME group compared to control animals. Dietary OKG administration had only a limited effect in this model of mild hepatic I-R, leading mainly to reduced TNF(alpha) production. As the content of lipid peroxidation products was not modified, it seems that OKG acts on the inflammatory response rather than on oxidative reactions. This action can tentatively be attributed to the role of OKG as a glutamine precursor rather than to the synthesis of arginine and nitric oxide.
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PMID:Does dietary ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate supplementation protect the liver against ischemia-reperfusion injury? 1589 23

The current study explored the concept that adult and pediatric populations differ in their response to major injury. Male C57BL/6 mice of a "young adult" (8-12 weeks) or "mature adult" (12-13 months) age were subjected to partial hepatic ischemia and reperfusion. Mature adult mice displayed significantly more liver injury than young adult mice as assessed histologically and by serum levels of alanine aminotransferase. Interestingly, there was far less neutrophil accumulation in the livers of mature adult mice. However, liver-recruited neutrophils from mature adult mice had a higher activation state than those from young adult mice. Activation of the inflammatory transcription factor, NF-kappaB, was suppressed in whole livers from mature adult mice. In isolated liver cells, Kupffer cells showed no difference in NF-kappaB activation, but hepatocytes from mature adult mice had delayed NF-kappaB activation in response to TNF. Furthermore, isolated hepatocytes from young adult mice produced abundant amounts of the chemokine, macrophage inflammatory protein-2, whereas hepatocytes from mature adult mice produced little, if any macrophage inflammatory protein-2. Mature adult mice had much lower hepatic expression of the cytoprotective protein, heat shock protein 70, than did young adult mice. In contrast, serum heat shock protein 70 levels, which has been linked to subsequent tissue injury, were higher in mature adult mice than in young adult mice. These data suggest that there are multiple alterations at the cellular and molecular levels that contribute to enhanced postischemic liver injury in mature adult mice.
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PMID:Age-dependent responses to hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury. 1624 27

Liver disease following the use of hypolipidemic drugs has been reported as a cellular damage (increases in AST or ALT enzymes) without cholestatic alterations (bilirubin and or alkaline phosphatase increases). Six mechanisms were proposed for hepatotoxicity: 1. High energy reactions on P450 cytochrome impairing calcium homeostasis with rupture of intracellular fibrils and hepatocyte lysis. 2. Impairment of transporter proteins related to the bile acids flux (mechanism proposed for fibrate liver toxicity). 3. Immune reactions due to the formation of metabolites linked to enzymes following liver metabolism of hypolipidemic drugs. 4. Hepatotoxicity by T cells with additional inflammation mediated by neutrophils. 5. Apoptosis mediated by TNF and Fas (immune mediated). 6. Oxidative stress due to damage of intracellular organelles. In addition, advanced age, alcohol in excess, high doses of hypolipidemic drugs, interaction with other drugs, and previous active liver disease might increase liver toxicity.
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PMID:[Mechanisms of hepatotoxicity]. 1640 Mar 94

To date, hepatotoxicity with anti-TNF therapy has been associated with concomitant liver-toxicity drugs, infection or malignant diseases. We report the case of one patient with spondyloarthropathty who presented severe liver dysfunction related to infliximab. After the second infusion serum controls showed an slightly increase of transaminases. Before the administration of fifth infusion, infliximab therapy was stopped due to severe liver damage (AST 327 mU/ml, ALT 656 mU/mL, GGT 140 mU/mL, alkaline phosphate 227 mU/mL). Ten weeks after infliximab discontinuation serum concentrations of liver blood tests were normal but ankylosing spondylitis symptoms had relapsed. Therefore, he was treated with etanercept with a rapid and sustained improvement. Serum concentrations of albumin, AST, ALT, GGT and alkaline phosphate were followed and did not change for five months.
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PMID:Successful treatment with etanercept in a patient with hepatotoxicity closely related to infliximab. 1655 Mar 1


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