Porphyrins and porphyrinogen carboxy-lase in hexachlorobenzene-induced porphyria.

1. Qualitative and quantitative studies of the porphyrins and the porphyrinogen carboxylyase of the liver, spleen, kidney, harderian gland and erythrocytes from normal rats and from those hexachlorobenzene-induced porphyria were carried out. 2. Hexachlorobenzene has no effect on erythrocyte porphyrin content, but produces a decrease in that of Harderian gland and an increase in the porphyrin content of the kidney and spleen, and a marked increase in the liver (1 mumol/g of tissue). Octacarboxylic (isomer III) and heptacarboxylic porphyrins accumulated in kidney, spleen and liver, the former porphyrin being predominant. 3. Hexachlorobenzene has no effect on the activity of porphyrinogen carboxy-lase in erythrocytes; there is a slight decrease in enzyme activity in the Harderian gland, and a marked decrease in the liver and kidney enzyme activities. In the liver the removal of each carboxyl group from uroporphyrinogen III appears to be affected by this treatment. 4. The liver is the principal site of action of hexachlorobenzene, with the kidney next in decreasing order of effect, and erythropoietic tissue is unaffected. The marked decrease in porphyrinogen carboxy-lyase activities observed in liver and kidney could explain the high accumulation of octacarboxylic and heptacarboxylic porphyrins found in these tissues. 5. The results are discussed in relation to changes promoted by hexachlorobenzene in other enzymes of the haem pathway.     

Abnormal kinetic behavior of uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase obtained from rats with hexachlorobenzene-induced porphyria

Uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase is an essential enzyme in all organisms and functions in the heme biosynthetic pathway, catalyzing the decarboxylation of the four acetate groups of uroporphyrinogen to form coproporphyrinogen. This work examines whether the four sequential decarboxylations occur at the same active site, and explores whether hexachlorobenzene-induced porphyria affects the behavior of the enzyme. For this purpose, kinetic competition studies were done with mixtures of uroporphyrinogen III and pentacarboxyporphyrinogen III. With the enzyme from normal rats, a constant velocity was obtained with all the mixtures, indicating that uroporphyrinogen and pentacarboxy-porphyrinogen react at the same active site, i.e. the first and fourth decarboxylations occur at the same site. In contrast, in experiments with enzyme from rats with hexachlorobenzene-induced porphyria, the total rate for mixtures was always lower than the reference rate; and a curve with a deep minimum was obtained, indicating that the two reactions occur at functionally different sites, but with cross-inhibition. This suggests that the modifications induced in the enzyme by hexachlorobenzene cause the two active sites to become nonequivalent and functionally different. The question is discussed how the hexachlorobenzene treatment may produce this abnormal kinetic behavior, and alternative hypotheses are considered.     

Study of the origin of urinary porphyrins in experimental hexachlorobenzene-induced porphyria

The activity of the enzyme uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase was determined in the liver and the kidneys of C57BL/6 mice and Wistar albino rats with chronic hexachlorobenzene intoxication and the amount of the deposited uroporphyrin was measured in the both organs. In the control animals the activity of hepatic uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase was several times higher than the renal one. The administration of hexachlorobenzene led to an inhibition of the enzyme activity, which was equally expressed (about 2.5 times) in the liver and kidneys of the both species. The accumulation of uroporphyrin was more pronounced in the hepatic tissue than in the kidneys (about 9 times in mice and 5 times in rats on average). Taking into consideration the much higher uroporphyrin accumulation in the liver, the more active haem biosynthesis in this organ, as well as its larger size, one could accept that the predominant part of the urinary porphyrins in hexachlorobenzene porphyria has a hepatic and not a renal origin.     

Investigations on the role of free radical processes in hexachlorobenzene-induced porphyria in mice

Male C57BY/10 mice were chronically fed hexachlorobenzene (HCB) (0.02% of the diet) alone or in combination with a single subcutaneous dose of iron (12.5 mg iron per mouse). After eight weeks the group of mice pretreated with the iron overload was highly sensitized to the porphyrogenic effect of HCB, as shown by liver porphyrin accumulation. A synergistic effect of iron was evident on other parameters too, such as HCB-induced hepatic damage, activation of type O of xanthine oxidase, and decreased activity of copper zinc superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase(s). None of these parameters was affected by iron alone. Iron alone and in association with HCB markedly raised the level of lipid peroxides, the increase in the HCB group being smaller. The combined treatment resulted in a significant reduction of HCB's inductive effects on microsomal heme and cytochromes P-450 and b₅ and on the activity of aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase. The content of nonprotein sulfhydryl groups was reduced to the same extent in mice treated with HCB or HCB plus iron. The results suggest that reactive intermediates such as are formed by lipid peroxidation are not sufficient on their own to create the conditions for uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase impairment, as evident in the group of mice receiving iron overload alone. Conversely, HCB administration induced a specific condition of imbalance in the liver between formation and inactivation of reactive intermediates which was associated with hepatic porphyrin accumulation and was potentiated by concomitant administration of iron.     

The role of the Ah locus in hexachlorobenzene-induced porphyria. Studies in congenic C57BL/6J mice.

The role of the Ah locus in hexachlorobenzene (HCB)-induced porphyria and the possible involvement of P-450 cytochromes P(1)450 and P(3)450 in the pathogenesis of this disease were investigated in two congenic strains of C57BL/6J mice that differ only at this locus. Female B6-Ahb mice (Ah receptor: approximately 30-70 fmol/mg of cytosolic protein) and B6-Ahd mice (Ah receptor: undetectable) were pretreated with iron (500 mg/kg) and then fed a diet containing 0 or 200 p.p.m. of HCB for up to 17 weeks. Mice from the two strains consumed similar amounts of HCB. Urinary excretion of porphyrins was increased after 7 weeks of HCB treatment in B6-Ahb mice, and after 15 weeks was over 200 times greater than that of mice given iron only. In B6-Ahd mice, porphyrin excretion did not begin to increase until after 13 weeks, and after 15 weeks was only six times greater than that of controls. Similar differences were seen in the 15-week hepatic porphyrin concentrations (B6-Ahb: 1110 +/- 393; B6-Ahd: 17.6 +/- 14.5; controls: approximately 0.20 nmol/g). Uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.37) activity was diminished by 70 and 20% in B6-Ahb B6-Ahd mice respectively after 15 weeks of treatment with HCB. Cytochromes P(1)450 and P(3)450 were measured in hepatic microsomes (microsomal fractions) by radioimmunoassay and immunoblotting, using antisera raised against the orthologous rat isoenzymes P450c and P450d. HCB induced small amounts of a protein recognized by anti-P450c (P(1)450) in B6-Ahd mice, but not in B6-Ahd mice. Relatively large amounts of a protein recognized by anti-P450d (P(3)450) were induced in both strains, but to a somewhat greater extent in the B6-Ahb mice. The hepatic accumulation of HCB at 15 weeks was greater in B6-Ahb than in B6-Ahd mice, in association with elevated hepatic lipid levels in the former strain. The results of this experiment indicate that the Ah locus influences the susceptibility of C57BL/6J mice to HCB-induced porphyria and are consistent with the suggestion that the sustained induction of P(3)450 and/or P(1)450 may be a causative factor in the development of this disease.     

Effect of phenobarbitone administration to pregnant rats on anxiety in offsprings

Adults Charles-Foster rats were prenatally treated to phenobarbitone (10 mg/kg, i.p.) from day 13 to 21 of gestation, this being the critical period of neural development. Pregnant control rats were similarly treated with equal volume of vehicle. Adult rat offsprings at 8-9 weeks of age were subjected to open-field exploratory behaviour, elevated plus-maze and elevated zero-maze tests. The rat offsprings displayed significantly increased ambulation and rearings in an open-field arena when compared to control offsprings whereas self-grooming and faecal droppings remain unchanged. On elevated plus-maze test these prenatally treated rat offsprings spent significantly less time on open arms and more time and more number of entries in enclosed arms as compared to controls. Prenatally exposed rats also showed significant less time on open arms, less number of head dips and stretched attend postures on elevated zero-maze test indicating increased anxiogenic behavioural pattern in these animals. The results suggest that prenatal exposure to phenobarbitone leaves a lasting effect on the anxiety state of the offsprings.     

Effect of dipyridoimidazole pretreatment on mutagen activation in rats

Rats were pretreated with a single oral dose of different mutagenic fractions obtained from glutamic acid pyrolysate: Glu-P-2 (2-amino-dipyrido[1,2-a:3',2'-d]imidazole), Glu-P-3 (3-amino-4,6-dimethyldipyrido[1,2-a:3',2'-d]imidazole), the tar residue and a basic extract (B2). The liver S9 fractions of these animals were used to investigate the mutagenic activation of 3 promutagens (2-aminoanthracene, Glu-P-2 and Glu-P-3) in Salmonella typhimurium strain TA1538. Different factors were analyzed; influence of the structure of the compounds administered, doses, time interval between pretreatment and sacrifice and sex of the rats. Interpretation of the hepatic induction effects was complicated, however, by the fact that simple oral pretreatment with the solvents (DMSO or ethanol) enhances the activation of the substrates tested for mutagenicity. A dose-effect relationship was found between 2-AA mutagenic activation and Glu-P-2 pretreatment. Glu-P-3 induced the activation of 2-AA more than did Glu-P-2, in the male as in the female. The mutagenicity of 2-AA activated with S9 from male rats was found to be optimal after 24 h pretreatment with 20 mg Glu-P-2/kg b.w. The mutagenicity of Glu-P-2 was poorly influenced by the different pretreatments applied to either the males or the females, whereas some dose effect was found in the autoinduction of Glu-P-2 mutagenicity. Compared to Glu-P-2, the mutagenicity of Glu-P-3 was increased at higher levels when tested with S9 from males pretreated with the same compound, but no differences were observed between males and females.     

Subcellular localization of UDP-glucuronyltransferase by differential centrifugation. Changes produced by pretreatment of rats with secretin, glucagon, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide and phenobarbitone

Subcellular fractionation of liver homogenates from treated rats was carried out in order to study the mechanism of action of the gastrointestinal polypeptides on glucoronidation. Rats were treated for 90 min with an intravenous infusion of secretin (0.4 cU/h/100 g body weight), glucagon (100 micrograms/h/100 g body weight) and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) (300 ng/h/100 g body weight); controls were sham-treated rats. For comparison, another group of animals was treated with a daily injection of phenobarbitone (10 mg/kg), a well-established enzyme inducer. Treatment with the different polypeptides produced minor changes in the subcellular localization of the enzyme. The bulk of activity was always recovered in the microsomal fraction, as identified by both differential centrifugation and the enrichment in specific activity of glucose-6-phosphatase, esterase and NADPH-cytochrome c reductase. Secretin produced a specific increase of bilirubin glucuronidation, more evident in all nuclear fractions. Glucagon increased both bilirubin and p-nitrophenol glucuronidation in all subcellular fractions. VIP had a selective action on p-nitrophenol conjugation of similar extent in nuclear and microsomal fractions. The type of changes observed is suggestive of physicochemical modifications occurring into the cell, perhaps at the membrane environment of different organelles, able to modify the overall conjugation of different substrates by the cell.     

Hexachlorobenzene porphyria and hexachlorobenzene catabolism in rats

Gas-chromatographic examinations were made on the amounts of hexachlorobenzene accumulating in the liver and fatty tissue of rats chronically poisoned with a diet containing 0.2 % hexachlorobenzene, and on the amounts of hexachlorobenzene and pentachlorophenol excreted with the urine and the faeces in the course of the poisoning. The results indicated a constant rise in the hexachlorobenzene levels in these tissues. Pentachlorophenol formed in the catabolism of hexachlorobenzene appeared in increasing concentration in both the urine and the faeces from the commencement of the poisoning. After the 5th–6th week of poisoning, the presence of other apolar and polar products in the excretions was also markedly enhanced. After a single dose of hexachlorobenzene /0.2 g/animal/, of all the decomposition products only pentachlorophenol was produced in high concentration, showing that this is a primary catabolite. A hypothesis is put forward as to the possibility of a role being played in the mechanism of action of hexachlorobenzene by a membrane permeability change.     

Effect of phenobarbitone on the nucleocytoplasmic transport of ribonucleic acid in vitro.

The transport of nucleic acids from the nucleus to the cytoplasm is a potential site for modification of normal cellular processes by drugs and hormones. In this study the effect of phenobarbitone on nucleocytoplasmic transport of ribosomes was measured in an assay system in vitro. The transport of radioactive ribosomes from isolated rat hepatic nuclei to unlabelled post-microsomal supernatant was measured in rats treated with 80 mg of phenobarbitone/kg body wt. or saline 3h before death. With either treatment, transport was linear with time, and dependent on temperature and the presence of ATP. However, phenobarbitone treatment increased transport of ribonucleoproteins over saline-treated animals nearly twofold. The effect of phenobarbitone was mediated through the cytosol, but was not the result of altered stability of the RNA transported to the cytosol. Cycloheximide (5 mg/kg body wt.) given 3.5 h before death inhibited the stimulation of transport by phenobarbitone. The data indicate that phenobarbitone increased the transport of RNA by stimulating the synthesis of cytosol factors that regulate transport of RNA from the nucleus.     

Oxalate excretion in rats injected with xylitol or glycollate: stimulation by phenobarbitone pre-treatment.

The hypothesis that the prior intake of barbiturates may predispose patients to form increased amounts of oxalate following the intravenous infusion of xylitol was investigated in the rat. Phenobarbitone pre-treatment resulted in a 2-3 fold increase in urinary [14C] oxalate concentration following the intraperitoneal injection of [U-14C] xylitol or [l -14C] glycollate. The absence of any marked changes in urine volumes and creatinine excretion implied that this increase in urinary oxalate excretion was due to the enhanced synthesis of oxalate. The activities of key enzymes in hepatic oxalate synthesis, glycollate oxidase, lactate dehydrogenase, catalase and alanine aminotransferase were not altered by phenobarbitone pre-treatment. It is suggested that the increased activity of the microsomal mixed function oxidases, following phenobarbitone treatment, may facilitate the oxidation of glycollate and possibly xylitol. This communication leads experimental support to the concept that the prior intake of drugs, such as barbiturates, may predispose patients to form increased amounts of oxalate.     

The effect of phenobarbitone on protein synthesis by liver polyribosomes in fed and starved rats.

1. The effect of phenobarbitone on the rate of protein synthesis and on the sedimentation patterns of various liver subcellular fractions containing ribosomes was studied in rats. 2. Phenobarbitone treatment increased the incorporation of [114C]leucine into protein by all preparations, provided they had not been subjected to preliminary treatment with Sephadex G-25. The phenobarbitone-induced effect on incorporation was associated with a gain in liver weight and a higher degree of polyribosomal aggregation. 3. Preparations that were treated with Sephadex G-25 incorporated more radioactivity into protein, but did not show the response to phenobarbitone treatment. 4. When the influence of starvation and phenobarbitone was studied separately on membrane-bound and membrane-free polyribosomes, it was shown that whereas both classes of polyribosomes were affected by starvation, apparently only the former class was susceptible to phenobarbitone stimulation of protein synthesis. 5. The decreased capacity for protein synthesis of polyribosomes from starved rats was independent of their association with the membranes of the endoplasmic reticulum, but resulted from polyribosomal disaggregation, from an intrinsic defect of the polyribosomes themselves and from changes in composition of the cell cap. 6. The results are discussed in relation to the problem of the control of protein biosynthesis and of the functional separation of membrane-bound and membrane-free polyribosomes.     

Effect of alpha lipoic acid amide on hexachlorobenzene porphyria.

The aim of this work is to study the effect of thioctamide--the commercial form of alpha lipoic acid amide--on the porphyrinogenic action of hexachlorobenzene (HCB). For this purpose, porphyria was induced in rats by chronic HCB treatment, with or without simultaneous thioctamide administration. Two different groups of rats were used as reference: one treated with vehicle (control) and the other treated with thioctamide (TO). Urine delta aminolevulic acid, porphobilinogen, and porphyrin excretions were lower in the HCB + TO treated group than in the HCB group, and the same happened with liver uroporphyrin accumulation. On the other hand, the second stage of uroporphyrinogen-decarboxylase activity was significantly higher in the HCB + TO group than in the HCB group. delta aminolevulic acid synthase activity was higher in the HCB group. Hepatic thiobarbituric acid reactive substances were lower in HCB + TO group than in HCB group. Thus, we might suggest that TO would decrease HCB effects by means of its free radical scavenging ability, and by having a direct effect on uroporphyrinogen-decarboxylase activity.