Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:6.3.2.3 (glutathione synthetase)
 678 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) is protective against acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity primarily by providing precursor for the glutathione synthetase pathway, while cysteamine has been demonstrated to alter the cytochrome P-450 dependent formation of toxic acetaminophen metabolite. Mice administered acetaminophen (500 mg/kg) had elevations of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) to 273.0 +/- 37.5 and 555.8 +/- 193.4 U/mL at 12 and 24 h, respectively, after injection. Administration of cysteamine (100 mg/kg) or NAC (500 mg/kg) significantly reduced serum ALT activity (p less than 0.001). Reducing the dose of NAC or cysteamine by 50% greatly reduced their hepatoprotective effect while the co-administration of the reduced doses of NAC (250 mg/kg) and cysteamine (50 mg/kg) following acetaminophen overdose prevented elevation of serum ALT activity (39.2 +/- 1.17 and 32.5 +/- 5.63 U/mL at 12 and 24 h post-injection, p less than 0.001) and preserved normal mouse hepatic histology. Neither NAC (500 mg/kg), cysteamine (100 mg/kg), or the lower doses in combination of both agents were found to alter the half-life or peak levels of acetaminophen. Liver microsomal aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase activity measured 24 h after drug administration was not significantly different between treatment groups and controls receiving only saline. These results indicate a possible role for the concomitant use of NAC and cysteamine in the prevention of hepatic necrosis following toxic doses of acetaminophen. Neither decrease in plasma acetaminophen levels nor depression of cytochrome P-450 enzyme activity appears to be the mechanism of protection when these doses of NAC, cysteamine, or both drugs together are administered with a toxic dose of acetaminophen in mice.
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PMID:Cysteamine in combination with N-acetylcysteine prevents acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity. 158 51

Evaluation of idiosyncratic drug reactions in predisposed individuals is limited by ethical concerns arising from rechallenge with the suspected offending agent. A previously developed in vitro method using human lymphocytes and a murine microsomal drug metabolizing system has been used to examine toxicity due to acetaminophen (APAP), sulfonamide antibiotics and aromatic anticonvulsants. An improved method is described in which toxic APAP metabolites are generated by a purified and reconstituted cytochrome P-450 system, minimizing the amount of exogenous detoxification enzymes in the assay. Toxicity is assessed by an objective, automated method based on the reduction of 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide to an insoluble purple formazan by the mitochondria of viable cells and correlates with that based on trypan blue exclusion. Toxicity required cytochrome P-450 and NADPH, and was inhibited by SKF 525A. Exogenous glutathione also decreased toxicity in a concentration-dependent manner. Lymphocytes from a glutathione synthetase-deficient patient exhibited markedly enhanced toxicity to APAP exceeding the 95% CL of 10 control subjects over a concentration range of 10 to 1000 micrograms/ml. The data are consistent with the generation of cytochrome P-450-dependent reactive metabolites which subsequently can be detoxified by glutathione. This method allows one to address specifically individual differences in detoxification pathways. The use of an automated assessment of cell viability may prove useful in preclinical screening of new compounds for their propensity to cause "idiosyncratic" drug reactions in a predisposed population.
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PMID:Drug metabolite toxicity assessed in human lymphocytes with a purified, reconstituted cytochrome P-450 system. 338 48

We have studied the effects of acetaminophen metabolites generated by a murine hepatic microsomal system on lymphocytes from two subjects heterozygous for glutathione synthetase deficiency. Heterozygous cells exhibited greater dose-related toxicity than controls. Following a 2-h incubation with acetaminophen and the microsomal system, cells were washed and incubated for 16 h in the presence or absence of N-acetylcysteine, the standard antidote for acetaminophen toxicity. In control cells, glutathione content was replenished to nearly base-line values and toxicity was prevented. N-Acetylcysteine thus prevented toxicity even after covalent binding of acetaminophen metabolites had occurred. Heterozygous cells failed to use N-acetylcysteine as efficiently to resynthesize glutathione, and the cells were not protected from acetaminophen toxicity. Heterozygotes may be at increased risk of toxicity from drugs whose metabolites are detoxified by glutathione conjugation.
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PMID:Acetaminophen toxicity in lymphocytes heterozygous for glutathione synthetase deficiency. 404 89

An experimental approach to the pharmacogenetics of human idiosyncratic drug reactions requires an assay for determining individual differences in susceptibility that does not expose patients to further drug-related risk. We have developed an in vitro drug toxicity assay designed to test the hypothesis that differences in susceptibility may be based on genetic abnormalities in the detoxification of electrophilic drug metabolites. Lymphocytes are challenged with metabolites generated by a murine hepatic microsomal system. By using cells from patients deficient in glutathione synthetase, we found that cells with decreased glutathione defenses are more sensitive to toxicity from metabolites of drugs such as acetaminophen, nitrofurantoin, and metronidazole. The assay was then applied to studying the pharmacogenetics of phenytoin hepatotoxicity. We found an inherited defect in the detoxification of phenytoin arene oxide metabolites in cells from patients and their relatives. The studies have led to an elucidation of a genetically heterogeneous group of detoxification defects for arene oxide metabolites of various aromatic drugs. Such experimental approaches may be useful in diagnosing idiosyncratic drug reactions, in establishing their pharmacogenetic basis, and perhaps in predicting toxicity potential of drugs for selected patients and families.
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PMID:In vitro assessment of pharmacogenetic susceptibility to toxic drug metabolites in humans. 671 38

Nitrofurantoin, a commonly used urinary tract antiseptic, has been associated with idiosyncratic pulmonary and hepatic damage. We have used human lymphocytes in vitro to explore the biochemical basis of susceptibility to nitrofurantoin toxicity. The drug itself did not damage the cells as assessed by trypan blue dye exclusion. In the presence of a mouse hepatic microsomal drug-activating system, however, nitrofurantoin metabolites produced dose dependent toxicity to the lymphocytes. Inhibition of the enzyme epoxide hydrolase did not enhance toxicity; the metabolite thus does not appear to be a furan epoxide. Binding of reactive metabolites to cell macromolecules may lead directly to cell death, or in vivo, by acting as haptens to secondary immunologic responses. The metabolite caused a dose-dependent depletion of lymphocyte glutathione content. Cells from a patient with glutathione synthetase deficiency showed markedly enhanced nitrofurantoin toxicity. The findings suggest that glutathione plays a major role in protecting cells from nitrofurantoin-induced damage, and that studies of lymphocyte toxicity and glutathione metabolism in patients experiencing idiosyncratic reactions to nitrofurantoin may lead to elucidation of the biochemical and genetic basis of drug susceptibility.
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PMID:Nitrofurantoin cytotoxicity. In vitro assessment of risk based on glutathione metabolism. 745 57

Toxic electrophilic metabolites of acetaminophen are detoxified by conjugation with glutathione. Cellular glutathione content of patients with glutathione synthetase deficiency (5-oxoprolinuria) is 10% to 20% of normal. These patients might be at increased risk for acetaminophen toxicity. The hypothesis was tested by challenging lymphocytes from normals and a patient with glutathione synthetase deficiency in vitro with acetaminophen metabolites generated by a mouse hepatic microsomal drug-metabolizing system. For toxicity to be manifested in normal cells, glutathione content had to be depleted to less than 20% of control values at high acetaminophen concentrations (500 and 1,500 micrograms/ml), concentrations similar to blood levels in massive overdose and associated with hepatotoxicity in vivo. The patient's cells had only 14% of normal glutathione content, and exhibited more toxicity at 12.5 micrograms/ml acetaminophen (within the therapeutic range) as normals at maximum concentrations. The in vitro system may be of value in screening drugs potentially hazardous for glutathione synthetase-deficient patients, for exploring the role of glutathione in the detoxification of xenobiotics, and for examining glutathione protective mechanisms in patients with idiosyncratic cytotoxic drug reactions.
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PMID:Glutathione synthetase-deficient lymphocytes and acetaminophen toxicity. 746 Apr 74

Monocrotaline (MONO), a pyrrolizidine alkaloid, causes veno-occlusive disease of the liver, pulmonary arterial hypertension, and right ventricular hypertrophy. Toxicity is due to the hepatic formation of a pyrolic metabolite that can be detoxified by conjugation with glutathione (GSH). We have shown that the GSH content of the liver affects the quantity of the pyrrolic metabolite that is released from the liver. We have now examined whether MONO, in turn, affects GSH metabolism. Twenty-four hours after administration of MONO to rats (65 mg/kg, i.p.), the highest concentration of bound pyrrolic metabolites was found in the liver, followed by the lung and kidney. Heart and brain contained lower concentrations of these metabolites. Significantly higher levels of GSH were found in liver and lungs of MONO-treated rats than in saline-injected control animals. In the liver, activities of the following enzymes were elevated: gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase, GSH synthetase, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, dipeptidase, and microsomal GSH transferase. The same changes were seen in the lung. In the heart, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase activity was decreased markedly, and cytosolic GSH transferase activity was elevated. In the kidney, the activities of GSH synthetase, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, and cytosolic GSH transferase were increased. Our results establish a mutual interaction of MONO and sulfur metabolism. It appears that an early metabolic action of MONO is to modify sulfur amino acid metabolism, diverting cysteine metabolism from oxidation to taurine towards synthesis of GSH.
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PMID:Effects of monocrotaline, a pyrrolizidine alkaloid, on glutathione metabolism in the rat. 857 5

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most frequent causes of abnormal liver dysfunction, and its prevalence has markedly increased. We previously evaluated the expression of fatty acid metabolism-related genes in NAFLD and reported changes in expression that could contribute to increased fatty acid synthesis. In the present study, we evaluated the expression of additional fatty acid metabolism-related genes in larger groups of NAFLD (n=26) and normal liver (n=10) samples. The target genes for real-time PCR analysis were as follows: acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) 1, ACC2, fatty acid synthase (FAS), sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1c (SREBP-1c), and adipose differentiation-related protein (ADRP) for evaluation of de novo synthesis and uptake of fatty acids; carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1a; (CPT1a), long-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (LCAD), long-chain L-3-hydroxyacylcoenzyme A dehydrogenase alpha (HADHalpha), uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2), straight-chain acyl-CoA oxidase (ACOX), branched-chain acyl-CoA oxidase (BOX), cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1), CYP4A11, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)alpha for oxidation in the mitochondria, peroxisomes and microsomes; superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, and glutathione synthetase (GSS) for antioxidant pathways; and diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase 1 (DGAT1), PPARgamma, and hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) for triglyceride synthesis and catalysis. In NAFLD, although fatty acids accumulated in hepatocytes, their de novo synthesis and uptake were up-regulated in association with increased expression of ACC1, FAS, SREBP-1c, and ADRP. Fatty acid oxidation-related genes, LCAD, HADHalpha, UCP2, ACOX, BOX, CYP2E1, and CYP4A11, were all overexpressed, indicating that oxidation was enhanced in NAFLD, whereas the expression of CTP1a and PPARalpha was decreased. Furthermore, SOD and catalase were also overexpressed, indicating that antioxidant pathways are activated to neutralize reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are overproduced during oxidative processes. The expression of DGAT1 was up-regulated without increased PPARgamma expression, whereas the expression of HSL was decreased. Our data indicated the following regarding NAFLD: i) increased de novo synthesis and uptake of fatty acids lead to further fatty acid accumulation in hepatocytes; ii) mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation is decreased or fully activated; iii) in order to complement the function of mitochondria (beta-oxidation), peroxisomal (beta-oxidation) and microsomal (omega-oxidation) oxidation is up-regulated to decrease fatty acid accumulation; iv) antioxidant pathways including SOD and catalase are enhanced to neutralize ROS overproduced during mitochondrial, peroxisomal, and microsomal oxidation; and v) lipid droplet formation is enhanced due to increased DGAT expression and decreased HSL expression. Further studies will be needed to clarify how fatty acid synthesis is increased by SREBP-1c, which is under the control of insulin and AMP-activated protein kinase.
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PMID:Re-evaluation of fatty acid metabolism-related gene expression in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. 1767 40