Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:2.7.1.21 (thymidine kinase)
 7,561 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Intravenous injection of praseodymium nitrate into female Wistar rats results in liver damage. The aim of this study is to investigate the quality of serum high density lipoprotein content as an index for the severity and time course of liver damage and regeneration following the administration of praseodymium. Serum high density lipoprotein content drastically decreases to a minimum after 24 - 48 h, returning to control values after four days. Liver degeneration is characterized by some intracellular parameters, i.e. the nuclear RNA polymerase reactions, the ribosomal protein synthesis, hepatic spermidine concentration and the activities of serum transaminases (GOT, GPT) and the sorbitdehydrogenase. From the data it is evident that the time course of serum high density lipoprotein content follows the intracellular changes closely. Liver regeneration is represented by the ornithin decarboxylase, the deoxycytidylate deaminase, the thymidine kinase activities and the hepatic putrescine content. The time course of these parameters shows that the regeneration reaches a maximum after 3 - 4 days. In the serum, high density lipoprotein content reflects this process by returning to control values. From our data we conclude that serum high density lipoprotein content after i.v. administration of praseodymium can be considered as an expression of the functional state of the liver.
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PMID:Correlation between serum high density lipoprotein content and liver function during experimental hepatic degeneration and regeneration. 18 75

Liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy is characterized by an active phase of cell proliferation that is associated with a marked increase in thymidine kinase activity. Using non-denaturing gel electrophoresis and different substrate specificity, two isozymes could be detected. One was identified as the adult isozyme while the other was the fetal one. Both forms were present during liver regeneration. When the regenerative process was completed, the total enzymatic activity dropped to normal values and the fetal isozyme was displaced by the adult type.
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PMID:Isozyme pattern of thymidine kinase during liver regeneration. 673 57

Cadmium is a rare element that is nevertheless widely distributed throughout the biosphere and its toxic effects are becoming potentially more serious due to industrialization. Liver regeneration can be considered as a spectacular example of controlled tissue increase. In this study we examined the effect of cadmium pretreatment, administered 24 h before partial hepatectomy, on the liver regenerative process in rats, at different time intervals. The rate of 3H thymidine incorporation into hepatic DNA and the activity of the enzyme thymidine kinase were used as indices of liver proliferative capacity. Thymidine kinase, the rate-determining enzyme of DNA biosynthesis, was suppressed during the first hours following partial hepatectomy in the liver of cadmium pretreated animals. DNA biosynthesis was also strongly decreased in cadmium pretreated animals, by delaying the first peak of liver regeneration, compared with the partially hepatectomized ones. Biochemical parameters, mitotic index and proliferating cell nuclear antigen staining were also coestimated. The above data suggest that cadmium pretreatment suppressed the hepatic regenerative process, probably due to the inhibition of thymidine kinase.
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PMID:Effect of cadmium pretreatment on liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy in rats. 791 14

Liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy was studied in four groups of rats: control rats (n = 12), rats with 1 week of common bile duct obstruction (n = 11), rats with restoration of bile flow after 1 week of obstruction (n = 9) and a sham-operated group (n = 7). Parameters of DNA synthesis--thymidine kinase activity and in vivo bromodeoxyuridine incorporation--were measured at partial hepatectomy (T = 0), and 24 and 48 h after partial hepatectomy. During common bile duct obstruction, DNA synthesis was already stimulated at T = 0, but partial hepatectomy in common bile duct obstruction rats induced a delayed DNA synthesis. After 1 week of restoration of bile flow, normal DNA synthesis had returned at T = 0, but DNA synthesis after partial hepatectomy was still delayed. The sham-operated rats showed a normal regeneration response after partial hepatectomy assessed by bromodeoxyuridine incorporation but delayed as assessed by thymidine kinase activity, partly due to the impaired physical condition of the animals. The present data support the hypothesis that during cholestasis, regeneration promoting, and inhibitory factors accumulate in the liver, their balance determining whether regeneration after partial hepatectomy will occur in a normal, enhanced or delayed way.
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PMID:The effect of extrahepatic cholestasis on liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy in the rat. 853 93

Liver regeneration is an essential component of the reparative process following liver injury and surgical resection. It can be assessed by different tissue-based tests such as liver weights, mitotic counts, DNA contents and synthesis rates, immunohistochemical staining of nuclear antigens, gene expressions and certain protein levels or various serum-based tests that largely consist of specific enzyme determinations or documentation of certain proliferation markers. Although the simplest tissue-based test of liver regeneration is measurement of liver weights, these determinations are influenced by the extent of deposition of various materials not directly related to regeneration, such as lipids, glycogen and blood volumes. Because mitosis constitutes a very short segment of the cell cycle, mitotic counts are infrequently observed by light microscopy. Thymidine and BrdU incorporation into DNA are the reference tools for studying DNA synthesis, but their use requires pre-injection with radioactive isotopes or nucleotides which render them impractical for human studies. Flow cytometry is an accurate and objective method of monitoring hepatic regenerative activity but requires sophisticated equipment that is not generally available in many laboratories. Immunohistochemical staining for nuclear antigens (Ki-67, proliferating cell nuclear antigen [PCNA], DNA polymerase alpha and nucleolar organizer region [NOR] proteins) are acceptable and commonly used methods of monitoring regenerative activity but are subject to inter- and intra-observer variability. Gene expression rates such as Histone-3 mRNA abundance are hampered by the relatively low rates of gene transcription and the need for recombinant DNA technology. Protein and enzyme levels in liver tissues, such as putrescine, ornithine decarboxylase and thymidine kinase, are not precise and are confounded by the nutritional status of the host. While PCNA protein levels measured by immunoblot hold promise as a simple, accurate and reproducible marker of liver regeneration, additional studies are required to determine if this is a valid marker of regenerative activity in various models of hepatic injury and in humans. Of the serum-based determinations: thymidine kinase, ornithine decarboxylase, fibronectin, alpha fetoprotein, and early pregnancy factor offer practical and non-invasive tools to monitor liver regeneration, but the sensitivity and specificity of these tests have yet to be determined. In conclusion, many tissue and serum-based methods have been employed in clinical and experimental studies to assess liver regeneration; however, a gold standard has yet to be identified. Because of the disadvantages inherent in each method, and until a new, more accurate marker is identified, clinicians and scientists should incorporate a minimum of two independent markers in studies of liver regeneration.
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PMID:Liver regeneration: methods for monitoring and their applications. 912 13

There is no established model of regenerative liver resection in the baboon, and no study comparing the circulating hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) response with the DNA synthetic response after liver resection. A mean 20% partial hepatectomy (PH) was performed in 19 baboons and a sham operation comprising liver mobilisation only was performed in 20 baboons. Blood HGF levels were measured up to 5 days after either procedure, using the human HGF enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit (Otsuka, Japan). The white cell count (WCC), aspartate transaminase (AST) and bilirubin were also measured. Liver regeneration, reflected by an increase in DNA synthesis, was determined from serial liver biopsies in 23 baboons, using a tritiated thymidine assay of liver thymidine kinase (TK). Liver resection and WCC had a significant influence on circulating HGF levels. There was a linear relationship between WCC and circulating HGF levels, which was independent of PH. For a constant value of WCC, resection produced a peaking of HGF over time, with the maximal levels occurring between 2 and 3 days, compared with the linear response in HGF in sham-operated baboons. Liver damage, as reflected by AST levels, was found to have no significant influence on circulating HGF levels. The 20% PH produced a significant increase in liver TK, with maximum levels evident between 2 and 4 days. Accordingly in this baboon model of PH the increase in biologically active, circulating HGF preceded the increase in liver DNA synthesis over 5 days. This observation supports the role of HGF in hepatocyte proliferation and as an initiator of liver regeneration, and suggests that further investigation into the potential endocrine action of HGF could be studied in this established liver regenerative primate model.
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PMID:The changes in circulating hepatocyte growth factor after partial hepatectomy in the baboon. 1045 Jun 55

Liver regeneration from the facultative hepatic stem cells, the oval cells, takes place in situations in which liver regeneration from pre-existing hepatocytes is prevented. Different models have been used to stimulate oval cell response. Many of them involve the use of carcinogenic agents with or without partial hepatectomy. In this study we show that adenovirus-mediated gene transfer of the suicide gene thymidine kinase followed by ganciclovir administration caused hepatotoxicity of variable intensity. Rats with moderate elevation in serum transaminases recovered normal liver architecture few weeks after adenovirus injection. In contrast, rats with severe liver damage exhibited a marked and persisting activation of oval cells accompanied by ductular hyperplasia. In some rats, such lesion eventually evolved to cholangiofibrosis and in one rat to cholangiocarcinoma. Deposition of fibronectin and increased number of hepatic stellate cells were found in association with oval cells and cholangiofibrotic lesions. Hepatocyte growth factor was hyperexpressed in the livers with intense oval cell response or ductular proliferation, suggesting a participation of this factor in those lesions. In summary, our data demonstrate activation of oval cell response after gene transfer of thymidine kinase followed by ganciclovir administration. These findings indicate that high doses of this therapy causes liver damage together with an impairment in hepatocellular regeneration.
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PMID:Liver damage using suicide genes. A model for oval cell activation. 1093 57

Exposure to toxic metals and pollutants is a major environmental problem. Cadmium is a metal causing acute hepatic injury but the mechanism of this phenomenon is poorly understood. In the present study, we investigated the mechanism and time-course of cadmium-induced liver injury in rats, with emphasis being placed on apoptosis in parenchymal and nonparenchymal liver cells. Cadmium (3.5 mg/kg body weight) was injected intraperitoneally and the rats were killed 0, 9, 12, 16, 24, 48 and 60 h later. The extent of liver injury was evaluated for necrosis, apoptosis, peliosis, mitoses and inflammatory infiltration in hematoxylin-eosin-stained liver sections, and by assaying serum enzyme activities. The number of cells that died via apoptosis was quantified by TUNEL assay. The identification of nonparenchymal liver cells and activated Kupffer cells was performed histochemically. Liver regeneration was evaluated by assaying the activity of liver thymidine kinase and by the rate of 3H-thymidine incorporation into DNA. Both cadmium-induced necrotic cell death and parenchymal cell apoptosis showed a biphasic elevation at 12 and 48 h and peaked at 48 and 12 h, respectively. Nonparenchymal cell apoptosis peaked at 48 h. Peliosis hepatis, another characteristic form of liver injury, was first observed at 16 h and, at all time points, closely correlated with the apoptotic index of nonparenchymal liver cells, where the lesion was also maximial at 48 h. Kupffer cell activation and neutrophil infiltration were minimal for all time points examined. Based on thymidine kinase activity, liver regeneration was found to discern a classic biphasic peak pattern at 12 and 48 h. It was very interesting to observe that cadmium-induced liver injury did not involve inflammation at any time point. Apoptosis seems to be a major mechanism for the removal of damaged cells, and constitutes the major type of cell death in nonparenchymal liver cells. Apoptosis of nonparenchymal cells is the basis of the pathogenesis of peliosis hepatis. The first peaks of necrosis and parenchymal cell apoptosis seem to evolve as a result of direct cadmium effects whereas the latter ones result from ischemia.
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PMID:Time-course of cadmium-induced acute hepatotoxicity in the rat liver: the role of apoptosis. 1368 93

Male Wistar rats were randomized to receive ethanol (2.5 ml/kg by gastric intubation every 8 hr; group I), equal volumes of isocaloric to ethanol sucrose solution (group II), or ethanol and HSS (100 mg/kg intraperitoneally 10 and 16 hr after partial hepatectomy; groups III and IV, respectively) for up to 96 hr after partial hepatectomy, with ethanol administration starting 1 hr prior to partial hepatectomy. Animals were killed at 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, 40, 44, 48, 60, and 96 hr after partial hepatectomy. The rate of liver regeneration was evaluated by the mitotic index in H&E-stained sections, immunochemical detection of Ki67 nuclear antigen, rate of [3H]thymidine incorporation into hepatic DNA, and liver thymidine kinase enzymatic activity. The biological activity of HSS in groups I and II rats was evaluated using a bioassay. Ethanol administration arrested liver regeneration during the first 32 hr after partial hepatectomy and suppressed HSS activity throughout the period examined. Liver regeneration progressed after 32 hr despite the low levels of HSS activity. HSS administration at 10 and 16 hr reversed liver regeneration arrest induced by ethanol. Acute ethanol administration induces cell cycle arrest during the first 32 hr after partial hepatectomy and suppression of HSS biological activity seems to contribute to this effect. HSS administration reversed the inhibitory effect of ethanol on liver regeneration and caused synchronized entrance of hepatocytes in the S phase of the cell cycle. HSS seems to participate in the network of growth factors controlling the G1/S cell cycle checkpoint.
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PMID:The hepatoprotective effect of hepatic stimulator substance (HSS) against liver regeneration arrest induced by acute ethanol intoxication. 1574 88

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of platelet-activating factor (PAF) inactivator, recombinant PAF-acetylhydrolase (rPAF-AH), on post-paracetamol treatment functional outcome of the liver in the rat. Fifty male Wistar rats were divided into two groups: the control group received a toxic dose of paracetamol (3.5 g/kg body weight [BW]) by gastric tube and the rPAF-AH-treated group received the same dose of paracetamol followed by a dose of rPAF-AH (10 mg/kg BW) intraperitoneally. The animals were sacrificed at time points of 56, 66, 72, 84, and 96 hr after paracetamol treatment. Hepatic injury was evaluated by determination of AST, ALT, and ALP activities and degree of necrosis and apoptosis. Liver regeneration was estimated by [3H]thymidine incorporation into hepatic DNA, liver thymidine kinase activity, and hepatocyte mitotic index. Hepatic levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and serum cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol fraction were also measured as parameters of oxidant-antioxidant balance. The positive effects of rPAF-AH were expressed by (1) reduction of oxidative stress, (2) large decrease in hepatic injury, and (3) diminution of regenerating activity. These results indicate that the use of PAF inactivator enhances the liver's recovery from paracetamol intoxication and attenuates the severity of experimental liver injury, providing important means of improving liver function following paracetamol intoxication.
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PMID:Recombinant platelet-activating factor-acetylhydrolase attenuates paracetamol-induced liver oxidative stress, injury, and regeneration. 1716 Apr 78


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