Effects of membrane perturbants on UDP-glucuronosyltransferase activity in rat-liver microsomes. Circular dichroism studies

Suppression of early stages of neoplastic transformation in a two-stage chemical hepatocarcinogenesis model: supplementation of vanadium, a dietary micronutrient, limits cell proliferation and inhibits the formations of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosines and DNA strand-breaks in the liver of sprague-dawley rats

Previous studies from our laboratory have demonstrated the potential anticarcinogenicity of vanadium, a dietary micronutrient in rat liver, colon, and mammary carcinogenesis models in vivo. In this paper, we have investigated further the antihepatocarcinogenic role of this essential trace element by studying several biomarkers of chemical carcinogenesis with special reference to cell proliferation and oxidative DNA damage. Hepatocarcinogenesis was induced in male Sprague-Dawley rats by chronic feeding of 2-acetylaminofluorene (2-AAF) at a dose of 0.05% in basal diet daily for 5 days a week. Vanadium in the form of ammonium metavanadate (0.5 ppm equivalent to 4.27 micromol/l) was supplemented ad lib to the rats. Continuous vanadium administration reduced relative liver weight, nodular incidence (79.99%), total number and multiplicity (P < 0.001; 68.17%) along with improvement in hepatocellular architecture when compared to carcinogen control. Vanadium treatment further restored hepatic uridine diphosphate (UDP)-glucuronosyl transferase and UDP-glucose dehydrogenase activities, inhibited lipid peroxidation, and prevented the development of glycogen-storage preneoplastic foci (P < 0.01; 63.29%) in an initiation-promotion model. Long-term vanadium treatment also reduced BrdU-labelling index (P < 0.02) and inhibited cell proliferation during hepatocellular preneoplasia. Finally, short-term vanadium exposure abated the formations of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosines (P < 0.001; 56.27%), length:width of DNA mass (P < 0.01), and the mean frequency of tailed DNA (P < 0.001) in preneoplastic rat liver. The study indicates the potential role of vanadium in suppressing cell proliferation and in preventing early DNA damage in vivo. Vanadium is chemopreventive against the early stages of 2-AAF-induced hepatocarcinogenesis in rats.

Optimal detergent activation of rat liver microsomal UDP-glucuronosyl transferases toward morphine and 1-naphthol: contribution to induction and latency studies

The detergent-activation profiles of UDP-glucuronosyl transferases (UGTs, EC 2.4.1.17) toward 1-naphthol and toward morphine have been determined: three non-ionic detergents, Triton X-100, Brij 58 and Lubrol Px and one zwitterion detergent, 3-(3-cholamidopropyl)-dimethylammonio-1-propanesulfonic acid (CHAPS) were studied. The results showed that marked inhibition of 1-naphthol-UGT and morphine UGT activities occurred with high concentrations of Triton X-100. Lubrol Px, at high concentrations, inhibited 1-naphthol-UGT but not morphine-UGT. It appeared that the detergent/protein ratio suitable for optimal activation of both isoenzymes was limited to 0.2 for these detergents. In contrast, Brij 58 and CHAPS displayed optimal activation of the two enzymes for a large range of detergent/microsomal protein ratios (respectively from 0.2 to 1 and from 0.4 to 1), making them the most suitable for induction and/or latency studies of both isoenzymes. The influence of maximal activation status on the effect of 3-methylcholanthrene and phenobarbital treatment on morphine-UGT and 1-naphthol-UGT activity has also been evaluated. The findings provided evidence that detergent-activation profiles and optimal detergent-activated versus "native" UGT activity determination give crucial informations about the characteristics of a given isoenzymic form of UGT, i.e. its sensitivity to specific alterations of the phospholipid environment, its latency and its inducibility.

Enzyme-catalyzed detoxication reactions: mechanisms and stereochemistry

Enzyme catalyzed detoxication reactions are one of the primary defenses organisms have against chemical insult. This article reviews current chemical approaches to understanding the cooperative role of enzymes in the metabolism of foreign compounds. Emphasis is placed on chemical and stereochemical studies which help elucidate the mechanism of action and active-site topologies of the detoxication enzymes. The stereoselectivity of the cytochromes P-450 and flavin containing monooxygenases as well as the role of hemoglobin and lipid peroxidation in the primary metabolism of xenobiotics is discussed. Current knowledge of the mechanism and stereoselectivity of epoxide hydrolase is also presented. Three enzymes involved in secondary metabolism of xenobiotics, UDP-glucuronosyltransferase, sulfotransferase and glutathione S-transferase are discussed with particular emphasis on active site topology and cooperative participation with the enzymes of primary metabolism.

Properties of human hepatic UDP-glucuronosyltransferases. Relationship to other inducible enzymes in patients with cholestasis

Glucuronidation of 4-nitrophenol, nopol (a monoterpenoid alcohol) and bilirubin, which in the rat, are catalyzed by three different enzymes, has been examined in liver biopsies from patients with various liver diseases, in particular cholestasis. These different activities were not correlated, which strongly suggests that at least three independently regulated forms of UDP-glucuronosyltransferases were present in the microsomes. Non ionic detergents (Triton X100, Emulgen 911) and deoxycholate produced similar activation (more than 2-fold) of the glucuronidation of 4-nitrophenol. Amphipathic substances, such as CHAPS (3-[3-cholamidopropyl-dimethylammonio]-1-propane sulfonate), and lysophosphatidylcholines maximally increased this UDP-glucuronosyltransferase activity, the most potent being oleoyl lysophosphatidylcholine (4-fold increase). Discriminant analysis of the data revealed no correlation between the three different UDP-glucuronosyltransferase activities and the age or sex of the patients. A good correlation was found on multidimensional analysis between form 1 of the enzyme (4-nitrophenol glucuronidation) and, in decreasing order of magnitude, epoxide hydrolase (measured with benzo(a)pyrene-4,5-oxide as substrate), cytochrome P-450, 7-ethoxycoumarin deethylase, aspartate aminotransferase and gamma-glutamyltransferase (r = 0.89); and between Form 3 of the enzyme (bilirubin glucuronidation) and NADPH cytochrome c reductase, alkaline phosphatase, (r = 0.81). These relationships may reflect the differential variation in enzymatic activities in various hepato-biliary diseases.

UDP-glucuronosyltransferase(s) activities towards natural substrates in rat liver microsomes. Kinetic properties and influence of triton X-100 activation

We studied the in vitro capability of hepatic microsomal UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UDPGT) in male rats to conjugate 22 natural xenobiotics which are known to be excreted as glucuronides in vivo. We clearly demonstrated that the Vmax can range in a decreasing scale for the following families of aglycones: 7-hydroxylated coumarins greater than 2-naphthol and phenols greater than monoterpenoid alcohols greater than 4-hydroxylated coumarins. The Km app. cannot be arranged in the same scale. This suggests that the catalytic mechanism of UDPGT is dependent on the hydroxyl group reactivity rather than on the binding interaction at the active site expressed by the Km app. The effects of various concentrations of detergent (Triton X-100) were determined on specificity (apparent Km) and activity (Vmax). For the 22 aglycones we showed that activation caused a variation in the Vmax which was a function of the concentration in detergent. The maximum of this activation did not always correspond to the same detergent/protein weight ratio. The impact of activation on Km app. was less clear since the variations observed were slightly different.

Heterogeneity of hepatic microsomal UDP-glucuronosyltransferase activities. Conjugations of phenolic and monoterpenoid aglycones in control and induced rats and guinea pigs

In this report we present evidence that the heterogeneity of hepatic microsomal UDP-glucuronosyltransferase(s) (UDPGT) activities depends on the chemical structures of the aglycones as well as their biophysical constants. Three animal models were used: Wistar rats, which have active UDPGTs; Gunn rats, in which some of the UDPGT activities are reduced, but which can be induced by phenobarbital; and guinea pigs. In Wistar rats, we found that some coumarins were poor substrates of UDPGT (GT1) and that twenty monoterpenoid alcohol activities showed typical phenobarbital-inducible behavior. In Gunn rats, we showed that substitution of the phenolic aglycone by bulky (alkyl- or methoxy-) groups in the 2-position of the phenolic ring decreased UDPGT (GT1) activity, whereas substitution in the 4-position resulted in an increase in this activity. We also showed that, in this particular strain, activities toward terpenes were less affected than activities toward flat (aromatic) aglycones. Induction by phenobarbital in Gunn rats increased the activity and limited the deficiency for monoterpenoid alcohols. In guinea pigs, we confirmed that phenobarbital selectively increased the activities of UDPGT towards twenty monoterpenoid alcohols without affecting other typical phenobarbital-induced activities such as those for conjugation of morphine. Finally, we showed that orientation of the aglycone molecule in the active site was apparently related to its dipole moment and that the distance between "acceptor-oxygen" (hydroxyl) and the carbons out of the general plane of the molecule was an important factor. These studies clearly suggest that rat and guinea pig contain a UDPGT(monoterpenoid alcohols) with restricted specificities and also that UDPGT(GT1) comprises at least two or three different isoenzymes, each with a slightly different restricted specificity towards flat aromatic aglycones.

Conformational study of purified epoxide hydrolase from rat liver

Hepatic epoxide hydrolase (EC 3.3.2.3) was purified from phenobarbital-treated rats by ion-exchange chromatography followed by hydrophobic chromatography. The enzyme had a specific activity of 300--400 nmol min-1 mg-1 protein with benzo[a]pyrene-4,5-oxide as the substrate. Circular dichroism (CD) spectra of the purified enzyme gave two negative bands, centered at 210 nm and 222 nm, respectively. The mean residue ellipticity at 222 nm was 12,9000 deg X cm(2) X dmol(-1), which indicated the presence of about 35% alpha-helical structures. Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) greatly affected the shape of the CD spectra, which were gradually shifted to the blue. This suggested a decrease in the aggregation state of the protein. Electrostatic interactions were important in the organization of the enzyme structure since the conformation was stable between pH 7.4 and pH 10. At pH-values 5.0, 6.0 and 12.0, the CD bands underwent considerable changes in both amplitude and shape. Moreover there was a good correlation between the optimal pH range of the epoxide hydrolase activity and the organization state of the protein. After membrane reconstitution with liposomes, the conformation of the enzyme was not significantly modified by the presence of dimyristoyl L-alpha-phosphatidylcholine or other phospholipids. This constancy was obtained over a wide range of molar ratios of phospholipids to protein (0--500). However, phospholipids did increase the thermal stability of the enzyme. Fluorescence measurements of diphenylhexatriene (DPH) bound to dimyristoyl L-alpha-phosphatidylcholine indicated that addition of epoxide hydrolase modified the thermal transition of the lipid phase. On the other hand, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) signals of the nitroxide-labelled fatty acid, 2-(14-carboxy-tetradecyl)-2-ethyl-4,4-dimethyl-3,3,-oxazolidiny-oxyl, bound to the phospholipid, indicated that the presence of the protein decreased by about 53% the correlation time of the label, suggesting that its motion had increased. In conclusion, phospholipid-epoxide hydrolase interactions enhanced the fluidity of dimyristoyl L-alpha-phosphatidylcholine liposomes without changing the secondary structure of the enzyme. Electrostatic interactions also played an important role in the conformational stability of the protein.