Lack of UGT1 isoforms in Gunn rats changes metabolic ratio and facilitates excretion of the food-derived carcinogen 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo

Real-time imaging of intestinal bacterial β-glucuronidase activity by hydrolysis of a fluorescent probe

Intestinal bacterial β-glucuronidase (βG) hydrolyzes glucuronidated metabolites to their toxic form in intestines, resulting in intestinal damage. The development of a method to inhibit βG is thus important but has been limited by the difficulty of directly assessing enzyme activity in live animals. Here, we utilized a fluorescent probe, fluorescein di-β-D-glucuronide (FDGlcU), to non-invasively image the intestinal bacterial βG activity in nude mice. In vitro cell-based assays showed that the detection limit is 10⁴ colony-forming units/well of βG-expressing bacteria, and that 7.81 ng/mL of FDGlcU is enough to generate significant fluorescent signal. In whole-body optical images of nude mice, the maximum fluorescence signal for βG activity in intestines was detected 3 hours after gavage with FDGlcU. Following pretreatment with a bacterial βG inhibitor, the fluorescence signal was significantly reduced in abdomens and excised intestines images. For a 4-day antibiotic treatment to deplete intestinal bacteria, the FDGlcU-based images showed that the βG activity was decreased by 8.5-fold on day 4 and then gradually increased after treatment stopped. The results suggested that FDGlcU-based imaging revealed the in vitro and in vivo activity of intestinal bacterial βG, which would facilitate pharmacodynamic studies of specific bacterial βG inhibitors in animal studies.

Molecular changes in hepatic metabolism and transport in cirrhosis and their functional importance

Liver cirrhosis is the common endpoint of many hepatic diseases and represents a relevant risk for liver failure and hepatocellular carcinoma. The progress of liver fibrosis and cirrhosis is accompanied by deteriorating liver function. This review summarizes the regulatory and functional changes in phase I and phase II metabolic enzymes as well as transport proteins and provides an overview regarding lipid and glucose metabolism in cirrhotic patients. Interestingly, phase I enzymes are generally downregulated transcriptionally, while phase II enzymes are mostly preserved transcriptionally but are reduced in their function. Transport proteins are regulated in a specific way that resembles the molecular changes observed in obstructive cholestasis. Lipid and glucose metabolism are characterized by insulin resistance and catabolism, leading to the disturbance of energy expenditure and wasting. Possible non-invasive tests, especially breath tests, for components of liver metabolism are discussed. The heterogeneity and complexity of changes in hepatic metabolism complicate the assessment of liver function in individual patients. Additionally, studies in humans are rare, and species differences preclude the transferability of data from rodents to humans. In clinical practice, some established global scores or criteria form the basis for the functional evaluation of patients with liver cirrhosis, but difficult treatment decisions such as selection for transplantation or resection require further research regarding the application of existing non-invasive tests and the development of more specific tests.

Comparative and veterinary pharmacogenomics

Pharmacogenomics is the study of the impact of genetic variation on drug effects, with the ultimate goal of achieving "personalised medicine". Since the completion of the Human Genome Project, great strides have been made towards the goal of personalised dosing of drugs in people, as exemplified by the development of gene-guided dosing of the anticoagulant drug, warfarin. Although the pharmacogenomics of domestic animals is still at an early stage of development, there is great potential for advances in the coming years as the direct result of complete genome sequences currently being derived for many of the species of significance to veterinary and comparative medicine. This sequence information is being used to discover sequence variants in candidate genes associated with altered drug response, as well as to develop whole genome high density single nucleotide polymorphism arrays for genotype-phenotype linkage analysis. This review summarises the current state of veterinary pharmacogenomics research, including drug response variability phenotypes with either known genetic aetiology or strong circumstantial evidence for genetic involvement. Polymorphisms and rarer gene variants affecting drug disposition (pharmacokinetics) and drug effect (pharmacodynamics) are discussed. In addition to providing the veterinary clinician with useful information for the practise of therapeutics, it is envisaged that the increasing knowledge base will also provide a resource for individuals involved in veterinary and comparative biomedical research.

The impact of glucuronidation on the bioactivation and DNA adduction of the cooked-food carcinogen 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine in vivo

UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs) catalyze the glucuronidation of many different chemicals. Glucuronidation is especially important for detoxifying reactive intermediates from metabolic reactions, which otherwise can be biotransformed into highly reactive cytotoxic or carcinogenic species. Detoxification of certain food-borne-carcinogenic heterocyclic amines (HAs) is highly dependent on UGT1A-mediated glucuronidation. 2-Amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP), the most mass abundant carcinogenic HA found in well-done cooked meat, is extensively glucuronidated by UGT1A proteins. In humans, CYP1A2 catalyzed N-hydroxylation and subsequent UGT1A-mediated glucuronidation is a dominant pathway in the metabolism of PhIP. Therefore, changes in glucuronidation rates could significantly alter PhIP metabolism. To determine the importance of UGT1A-mediated glucuronidation in the biotransformation of PhIP, hepatic UGT1A deficient Gunn and UGT1A proficient Wistar rats were exposed to a 100 microg/kg oral dose of [(14)C]PhIP. Urine was collected over 24 h and the PhIP urinary metabolite profiles were compared between the two strains. After the 24 h exposure, livers and colons were removed and analyzed for DNA adduct formation by accelerator mass spectrometry. Wistar rats produced several PhIP and N-hydroxy-PhIP glucuronides that accounted for approximately 25% of the total amount of recovered urinary metabolites. In the Gunn rats, PhIP and N-hydroxy-PhIP glucuronides were reduced by 68-92%, compared with the Wistar rats. PhIP-DNA adduct analysis from the Gunn rats revealed a correlation between reduced urinary PhIP and N-hydroxy-PhIP glucuronide levels and increased hepatic DNA adducts, compared with the Wistar rats. In the colon, DNA adduct levels were lower in the Gunn rats compared with the Wistar rats, suggesting deficient hepatic UGT1A activity provides protection against DNA adduct formation in peripheral tissue. Due to differences in PhIP metabolism between humans and rodents, extrapolation of these results to the human situation must be done with caution. These results indicate that UGT1A-mediated glucuronidation of PhIP and N-hydroxy-PhIP is an important pathway for PhIP detoxification, and demonstrate the importance of tissue-specific metabolism. Tissues with reduced UGT1A activity can have a higher rate of PhIP activation and be more inclined to form DNA adducts compared with tissues with normal UGT1A activity.