Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:3.2.1.31 (beta-glucuronidase)
 7,680 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

It has been postulated that the intestinal anaerobes play a role in the etiology of large bowel cancer. This study was designed to characterize and compare the fecal anaerobes of patients with large bowel cancer, patients with nonhereditary large bowel polyps, and healthy control subjects. Although some distributional variations of the anaerobic genera were observed among the study groups, significant differences in fecal anaerobic microflora and total aerobic counts were not noted. This suggests that taxonomic grouping of fecal bacteria is an inadequate measure of relative risk of developing large bowel cancer. However, the fecal microbial 7alpha-dehydroxylase and cholesterol dehydrogenase activities of large bowel cancer patients and patients with nonhereditary large bowel polyps were significantly higher than those of healthy control subjects. On the other hand, no significant difference in fecal microbial beta-glucuronidase activity was noted among the study groups. It may be that assessment of the total metabolic activities of the intestinal microflora will provide a better understanding of their potential role in the genesis of large bowel cancer.
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PMID:Fecal profiles of anaerobic microflora of large bowel cancer patients and patients with nonhereditary large bowel polyps. 71 30

Because of the potential significance of secondary bile acids and cholesterol metabolites formed by the intestinal microflora in the pathogenesis of colon cancer, fecal microbial 7alpha-dehydroxylase and cholesterol dehydrogenase activities were assayed in colorectal cancer patients, patients with adenomatous polyps, asymptomatic controls, and normal controls. The mean 7alpha-dehydroxylase activity per 100 mg of dry feces per 2 hr incubation for colorectal cancer patients was significantly greater than either asymptomatic controls or normal controls. Patients with polyps had greater activity than controls, but did not differ significantly from the cancer patients or asymptomatic controls. The mean cholesterol dehydrogenase activity for colorectal cancer patients was significantly greater than controls. Patients with polyps also had greater activity than controls. No differences in the level of fecal beta-glucuronidase activity were found among the four risk groups. These data support the concept that patients with colorectal cancer are more able to convert primary bile acids and cholesterol to microbial products in colon contents than are controls. Such differences in the activity of intestinal microflora may serve as biochemical indicators that will reflect the enzymic activity of the fecal flora as well as the key intraluminal compounds in identifying populations at different risk for developing colorectal cancer.
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PMID:Metabolic epidemiology of colon cancer: enzymic activity of fecal flora. 79 71

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of citrus pectin on human fecal neutral and acid steroid excretion and beta-glucuronidase and 7alpha-dehydroxylase activity. Eight healthy male subjects (age 20 to 27 yr) were used in a switchback design with or without 15 g citrus pectin added to a mixed low fiber diet. There were three successive 18-day periods preceded by a 4-day adjustment period. Half of the subjects followed a pectin-nonpectin-pectin protocol and the other half followed a nonpectin-pectin-nonpectin protocol. Fecal samples were collected throughout the study under anaerobic conditions. Compared to the control diet, mean fecal weight, percentage moisture, transit time, and fecal fat for both groups of subjects were not significantly different by analysis of variance when subjects were fed pectin diet. Mean beta-glucuronidase activity was increased (35%) when subjects were fed the pectin. Mean 7alpha-dehydroxylase activity showed no definite trend. Mean neutral steroid concentration was slightly decreased (8%) when the pectin diet was fed but total excretion was unchanged. End of period neutral steroid concentration was decreased 9% and total excretion was decreased 3.5%. Mean acid steroid concentration was not changed but total excretion was increased (11%) on the pectin diet. End of period acid steroid concentration and excretion was increased 6% on the pectin diet. This study shows that there were interrelationships between dietary pectin, neutral and acid steroid metabolism, and bacterial enzyme activity.
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PMID:The effect of dietary citrus pectin on the excretion of human fecal neutral and acid steroids and the activity of 7alpha-dehydroxylase and beta-glucuronidase. 627 Oct

Dried plums (that is, prunes) are a fruit that show promise as a food to lower colon cancer risk, based on their high content of dietary fiber and polyphenolics. In this study, we have examined the effect of diets containing dried plums on the number of colonic precancerous lesions (aberrant crypts, ACs), fecal bile acid concentration, and cecal bacterial enzyme activities related to colon cancer risk. Rats were fed one of four diets: a basal diet (a modified AIN-93G diet), a low-concentration dried plum diet (LCDP, 4.75% dried plum powder), a high-concentration dried plum diet (HCDP, 9.5% dried plum powder), or a diet matched to the carbohydrate content of the HCDP diet (CH-M) for 10 days. All animals were then administered azoxymethane (15 mg/kg, s.c., given two times, 1 wk apart) and fed their respective diets for 9 additional weeks. The number of AC foci (ACF), large ACF (>3 AC/ACF), or ACF multiplicity (AC/ACF) did not differ among the four groups. When compared with the basal diet, rats fed the LCDP diet had significantly lower concentrations of total fecal bile acids, deoxycholic acid, and hyodeoxycholic acid. Rats fed the HCDP diet had significantly lower fecal concentrations of lithocholic acid and hyodeoxycholic acid. The LCDP and HCDP diets significantly decreased the cecal activity of 7alpha-dehydroxylase, and the LCDP also had lower beta-glucuronidase activity. The LCDP, HCDP, and CH-M groups had significantly greater cecal nitroreductase activities than the basal group. There was a significant correlation between 7alpha-dehydroxylase activity and fecal lithocholic acid concentration. Compared with the basal diet, both the LCDP and HCDP diets greatly increased cecal supernatant oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC). These results suggest that, although dried plums did not reduce ACF number, they favorably altered other colon cancer risk factors.
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PMID:Effect of dried plums on colon cancer risk factors in rats. 1635 14