Effects of 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid and quinolinic acid on 5-hydroxy-3-indoleacetic acid transport by the rabbit choroid plexus: pharmacology and electron microscopic cytochemistry

Na⁺,K⁺-ATPase as the Target Enzyme for Organic and Inorganic Compounds

This paper gives an overview of the literature data concerning specific and non specific inhibitors of Na⁺,K⁺-ATPase receptor. The immobilization approaches developed to improve the rather low time and temperature stability of Na⁺,K⁺-ATPase, as well to preserve the enzyme properties were overviewed. The functional immobilization of Na⁺,K⁺-ATPase receptor as the target, with preservation of the full functional protein activity and access of various substances to an optimum number of binding sites under controlled conditions in the combination with high sensitive technology for the detection of enzyme activity is the basis for application of this enzyme in medical, pharmaceutical and environmental research.

Potential developmental neurotoxicity of pesticides used in Europe

Pesticides used in agriculture are designed to protect crops against unwanted species, such as weeds, insects, and fungus. Many compounds target the nervous system of insect pests. Because of the similarity in brain biochemistry, such pesticides may also be neurotoxic to humans. Concerns have been raised that the developing brain may be particularly vulnerable to adverse effects of neurotoxic pesticides. Current requirements for safety testing do not include developmental neurotoxicity. We therefore undertook a systematic evaluation of published evidence on neurotoxicity of pesticides in current use, with specific emphasis on risks during early development. Epidemiologic studies show associations with neurodevelopmental deficits, but mainly deal with mixed exposures to pesticides. Laboratory experimental studies using model compounds suggest that many pesticides currently used in Europe--including organophosphates, carbamates, pyrethroids, ethylenebisdithiocarbamates, and chlorophenoxy herbicides--can cause neurodevelopmental toxicity. Adverse effects on brain development can be severe and irreversible. Prevention should therefore be a public health priority. The occurrence of residues in food and other types of human exposures should be prevented with regard to the pesticide groups that are known to be neurotoxic. For other substances, given their widespread use and the unique vulnerability of the developing brain, the general lack of data on developmental neurotoxicity calls for investment in targeted research. While awaiting more definite evidence, existing uncertainties should be considered in light of the need for precautionary action to protect brain development.

Drug efflux transporters in the CNS

The central nervous system (CNS) contains important cellular barriers that maintain homeostasis by protecting the brain from circulating toxins and through the elimination of toxic metabolites generated in the brain. The barriers that limit the concentration of toxins and xenobiotics in the interstitial fluids of the CNS are the capillary endothelial cells of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and the epithelial cells of the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier (BCSFB). Both of these barriers have cellular tight junctions and express transport systems which serve to actively transport nutrients into the brain, and actively efflux toxic metabolites and xenobiotics out of the brain. This review will focus on the expression and function of selected drug efflux transporters in these two barriers, specifically the multidrug resistance transporter, p-glycoprotein, and various organic anion transporters, such as multidrug resistance-associated proteins, organic anion transporter polypeptides, and organic anion transporters. These transport systems are increasingly recognized as important determinants of drug distribution to, and elimination from, different compartments of the CNS. Consequences of drug efflux transporters in barriers of the CNS include limiting the distribution of substrates that are beneficial to treat CNS diseases, and increasing the possibility of drug-drug interactions that may lead to untoward toxicities. Therefore, the study of these transporters is important in examining the various determinants of drug delivery to the CNS.

Mechanisms of toxicity, clinical features, and management of acute chlorophenoxy herbicide poisoning: a review

INTRODUCTION

Chlorophenoxy herbicides are used widely for the control of broad-leaved weeds. They exhibit a variety of mechanisms of toxicity including dose-dependent cell membrane damage, uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation, and disruption of acetylcoenzyme A metabolism. Between January 1962 and January 1999, 66 cases of chlorophenoxy herbicide poisoning following ingestion were reported in the literature. FEATURES FOLLOWING INGESTION: Adjuvants in the formulations may have contributed to some of the features observed. Vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and, occasionally, gastrointestinal hemorrhage were early effects. When present, hypotension was predominantly due to intravascular volume loss, although vasodilation and direct myocardial toxicity may have contributed in some cases. Neurotoxic features included coma, hypertonia, hyperreflexia, ataxia, nystagmus, miosis, hallucinations, convulsions, fasciculation, and paralysis. Hypoventilation occurred not infrequently, usually in association with central nervous system depression, but respiratory muscle weakness was a factor in the development of respiratory failure in some patients. Myopathic symptoms including limb muscle weakness, loss of tendon reflexes, and myotonia were observed and increased creatine kinase activity was noted in some cases. Other clinical features reported included metabolic acidosis, rhabdomyolysis, renal failure, increased aminotransferase activities, pyrexia, and hyperventilation. Twenty-two of 66 patients died. FEATURES FOLLOWING DERMAL AND INHALATIONAL EXPOSURE: Substantial dermal or inhalational 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid exposure has occasionally led to systemic features but no such reports have been published in the last 20 years and no fatalities have been reported at any time. Substantial dermal exposure has been reported to cause mild gastrointestinal irritation after a latent period followed by progressive mixed sensory-motor peripheral neuropathy. Mild, transient gastrointestinal and peripheral neuromuscular symptoms have also occurred after occupational inhalation exposure, with or without dermal exposure.

MANAGEMENT

In addition to supportive care, alkaline diuresis to enhance herbicide elimination should be considered in all seriously poisoned patients. Limited clinical data suggest that hemodialysis produces similar herbicide clearance to alkaline diuresis without the need for urine pH manipulation and the administration of substantial amounts of intravenous fluid in an already compromised patient.

CONCLUSIONS

While chlorophenoxy herbicide poisoning is uncommon, ingestion of a chlorophenoxy herbicide can result in serious and sometimes fatal sequelae. In severe cases of poisoning, alkaline diuresis or hemodialysis to increase herbicide elimination should be considered.

Pharmacokinetic modeling of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) in rat and in rabbit brain following single dose administration

A physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model has been developed to describe the kinetics of organic anions in the central nervous system using 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) as a model compound. The model consists of brain, body, venous, and arterial compartments. The brain compartment is subdivided into brain plasma, brain tissue and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Brain uptake is membrane-limited via a blood-brain barrier with saturable clearance from the CSF into the venous blood by the choroid plexus. The body has both a central and a deep compartment with saturable renal clearance from the central compartment. The model was used to examine venous plasma time course curves with experimental data from rats given 2,4-D by i.v. (5 or 90 mg/kg) or by oral ingestion (10, 50, or 150 mg/kg). The model was then extended to examine studies in which rabbit plasma, brain, and CSF concentrations were measured at 2 h after i.p. injection (40 mg/kg). In the rat, elimination was saturable (Vmax2 = 3.45 mg/h; Km2 = 86 mg/l) and the deep-compartment transfer coefficients were K12 (0.013 l/h) and K21 (0.048 l/h) between body and deep tissue compartment. Both oral and i.v. data were well described with these values. Limited single time point brain data from rabbits were analyzed with a lumped brain model assuming the generic model for 2,4-D in rat applies to the rabbit. The model simulations were in good agreement with rabbit plasma, brain, and CSF concentrations at 2 h after i.p. injection.

Octanoic Acid Produces Accumulation of Monoamine Acidic Metabolites in the Brain: Interaction with Organic Anion Transport at the Choroid Plexus

Effects of octanoic acid on monoamines and their acidic metabolites in the rat brain were analyzed by HPLC. Octanoic acid (1,000 mg/kg i.p.) elevated homovanillic acid levels by 54% in the caudate and 338% in the hypothalamus but increased 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) levels in both the caudate and the hypothalamus by approximately 50% compared with the control. A lower dose of octanoic acid (500 mg/kg) increased 5-HIAA levels by 29% in the caudate and 20% in the hypothalamus. However, it did not produce any changes in the concentration of homovanillic acid in either the caudate or the hypothalamus. Treatment with octanoic acid also failed to change the level of dopamine, serotonin, and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid in the caudate and the hypothalamus. The role of carrier-mediated transport in the clearance of 5-HIAA from the rabbit CSF was also evaluated in vivo by ventriculocisternal perfusion. Steady-state clearance of 5-HIAA from CSF exceeded that of inulin and was reduced in the presence of octanoic acid. Because this transport system in the choroid plexus is normally responsible for the excretion of the serotonin metabolite from the brain to the plasma, accumulation of endogenously produced organic acids in the brain, secondary to reduced clearance by the choroid plexus, could be a contributing factor in the development of encephalopathy in children with medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency who have elevated levels of octanoic acid systematically.

Interactions of halogenated industrial chemicals with transthyretin and effects on thyroid hormone levels in vivo

Previous results in experimental systems have suggested that hydroxylated PCBs may decrease thyroid hormone levels through associative interaction with transthyretin. In the present paper it was investigated whether this property was also shared by various industrial chemicals, mainly pesticides. In total, 65 compounds from 12 chemical groups were analyzed for direct interference with the T4 binding site of transthyretin using a competitive binding assay. Sixty per cent of the compounds were competitive at a concentration level of 100 microM. Relatively strong interactions were observed by several chlorophenols, chlorophenoxy acids and nitrophenols, as well as by individual compounds such as hexachlorobenzene, dicofol, bromoxynil and tetrachlorohydroquinone. Examples from these chemical groups, e.g. pentachlorophenol, 2,4-dichlorophenoxybutyric acid, dinoseb and bromoxynil, also reduced plasma TT4 levels in rats. In addition, bromoxynil decreased plasma TT3 levels. The results suggest the existence of a number of halogenated industrial chemicals with a potential for lowering plasma thyroid hormone levels through interference with hormone transport carriers.

L-Carnitine prevents mitochondrial damage induced by octanoic acid in the rat choroid plexus

Cytochrome oxidase activity was investigated histochemically in the choroid plexus epithelium. Intense staining for the enzyme was exclusively limited to the mitochondria. Rats treated with octanoic acid displayed extensive ultrastructural disruptions in the epithelial cells of the choroid plexus. Mitochondria were fewer in number and more disrupted compared to the control. The enzyme activity was greatly reduced. However, pretreatment with an equimolar dose of L-carnitine followed by octanoic acid injection produced little alteration of either ultrastructure or enzyme staining. This study suggests that L-carnitine supplementation may restore mitochondrial function of the choroid plexus subjected to toxic organic anions in metabolic disorders, and may be useful in the prevention of metabolic encephalopathy.

Increase in the acute toxicity and brain concentrations of chlorophenoxyacetic acids by probenecid in rats

1. Probenecid increased the acute toxicity of chlorophenoxyacetic acids (2,4-D, 2,4,5-T and MCPA) in rats. 2. Probenecid increased the brain to plasma ratios of all the three 14C-labelled chlorophenoxyacetic acids. The increase was due only partly to the displacement of chlorophenoxyacids from their binding sites in rat plasma proteins by probenecid. 3. Probenecid did not change significantly the intracerebral distribution pattern of 14C-labelled chlorophenoxyacetic acids.

Distribution of three common chlorophenoxyacetic acid herbicides into the rat brain

The distribution of three common 14C-labelled chlorophenoxyacetic acid herbicides (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid or 2,4-D, 2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid or MCPA, 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid or 2,4,5-T) into the different brain areas was studied in rats pretreated with toxic doses of the herbicides (238-475 mg/kg). Also, their binding to proteins in rat plasma was determined in vitro by increasing the concentrations of chlorophenoxyacetic acids in the incubate from 0 to 1 mg/ml. Both 2,4-D and MCPA pretreatments increased brain concentrations of 14C-labelled herbicides more markedly than 2,4,5-T pretreatments did. No essential differences were found in the distribution between the different brain areas. Protein-unbound fractions of 2,4-D and MCPA in the plasma were clearly higher than those of 2,4,5-T but the highest herbicide concentration increased the protein-unbound fraction of 2,4,5-T more (7-13-fold) than of 2,4-D and MCPA (5-fold). The results suggest that the greater increase in the penetration into the brain of 2,4-D and MCPA than of 2,4,5-T during their intoxication is due to some factors other than the changes in their binding to plasma proteins and mere enhanced diffusion through the blood-brain barrier.

Effects of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) on biogenic amines and their acidic metabolites in brain and cerebrospinal fluid of rats

Effects of single subcutaneous doses of sodium 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetate (2,4-D-Na) on biogenic amines and their acidic metabolites in rat brain and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were analyzed by high pressure liquid chromatography. After 200 mg/kg 2,4-D-Na, the cerebral concentration of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) was increased slightly and that of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) roughly 3-fold between 1 and 8 h after the administration. There was also a tendency towards slightly lowered dopamine (DA) levels. No statistically significant changes in brain concentrations of noradrenaline (NA), 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC), homovanillic acid (HVA) or tryptophan (TRY) were found. At the same time, however, the maximal increase in DOPAC, HVA and 5-HIAA concentrations in the CSF was 2.3-5.8-fold. The dependency of biogenic amines and metabolites on 2,4-D-Na dose was studied by injecting s.c. 0, 10, 30 and 100 mg/kg and sacrificing the rats at 2 h. In the brain, there was a dose-dependent increase in concentrations of 5-HIAA (at the two highest doses) and HVA (at the highest dose) while in the CSF those of all three acidic metabolites increased at the two highest doses. The 10 mg/kg dose had no effect. The results agree with the hypothesis that 2,4-D inhibits the organic acid transport out of the brain, which should then result in increased cerebral levels of acidic metabolites of biogenic amines, but it may also have effects on the activity of serotoninergic and dopaminergic neurones.

Cimetidine elimination from the cerebrospinal fluid of the rat

The major goal of this study was to develop a small animal model that could be used to assess quantitatively the clearance of cimetidine from the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) under relatively physiologic conditions. In addition, we addressed questions related to the pathways involved in the elimination of cimetidine from the CSF. We administered high and low bolus doses of cimetidine together with inulin, as a marker of bulk flow, into the lateral ventricle of anesthetized rats and sampled CSF from the cisterna magna. Principles of linear pharmacokinetic systems were applied to the data to obtain clearances from the CSF. The clearance of inulin was 2.02 +/- 0.22 microliters/min, which is in excellent agreement with the CSF production rate of 2.2 microliters/min in anesthetized rats. The clearance of cimetidine from the CSF following the administration of a low dose was 11.8 +/- 3.1 microliters/min, which is in good agreement with the cimetidine CSF clearance in the rat obtained previously in studies using the technique of ventriculocisternal perfusion. A 32% decrease in the CSF clearance of cimetidine (P less than 0.05) was observed when the high dose was administered, suggesting that CSF elimination is saturable. The clearance of inulin was unaffected by the high dose of cimetidine. This study demonstrates that the technique of lateral ventricle injection and sampling from the cisterna magna is useful in quantitatively assessing the elimination of compounds from the CSF in the rat under relatively physiologic conditions.