Mechanisms of the induction of apoptosis in human hepatoma cells by tumour necrosis factor-alpha.

Tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) at 20 ng/ml induced apoptosis in human hepatoma cells in vitro. The effect of TNF-alpha-induced apoptosis was exacerbated by the hypoxanthine-xanthine oxidase (HX/XO) system and cycloheximide (CHX), but alleviated by superoxide dismutase (SOD), suggesting that TNF-alpha-induced apoptosis may be due to oxidative stress, and independent of protein synthesis. TNF-alpha elevated free Ca(2+)concentration, triggered lipid peroxidation and decreased the expression of bcl-2 protein. The findings suggest that TNF-alpha-induced apoptosis may be involved in stimulating Ca(2+)-dependent endonuclease activity and increasing membrane lipid peroxidation. Bcl-2 may play a pivotal role in serving as a Ca(2+)regulator or antioxidant, preventing lipid peroxidation in the process.     

Silybin and dehydrosilybin inhibit cytochrome P450 1A1 catalytic activity: A study in human keratinocytes and human hepatoma cells

The flavonolignan silybin and its derivative dehydrosilybin have been proposed as candidate UV-protective agents in skin care products. This study addressed the effect of silybin and dehydrosilybin on the activity of cytochrome P450 isoform CYP1A1 in human keratinocytes (HaCaT) and human hepatoma cells (HepG2). CYP1A1 catalytic activity was assessed as O-deethylation of 7-ethoxyresorufin using fluorescence detection. Silybin and dehydrosylibin inhibited basal and dioxin-inducible CYP1A1 catalytic activity in both cell lines used. The inhibitory effect of tested compounds was more pronounced in HaCaT cells than in HepG2 cells, and dehydrosilybin was a much stronger inhibitor than silybin. Analyses on CYP1A1 human recombinant protein yielded IC₅₀ values of 22.9 ± 4.7 μmol/L and 0.43 ± 0.04 μmol/L for silybin and dehydrosilybin, respectively. Since CYP1A enzymes are some of the most prominent actors in the process of chemically induced carcinogenesis, the inhibitory activity of the flavonolignans tested against CYP1A1 favors their use as cytoprotective agents in terms of skin and hepatic metabolism. In addition, the capability of dehydrosilybin to inhibit CYP1A1 in submicromolar concentrations makes this compound a potential biological probe in CYP1A1 analyses.     

Differential regulation of human CYP4A genes by peroxisome proliferators and dexamethasone

HepG2 cells that stably overexpress PPARalpha were used to examine the regulation of the two known human CYP4A genes by Wy14643. Specific PCR amplification across intron 5 and restriction endonuclease analysis indicated that HepG2 cells possess genes corresponding to both the CYP4A11 cDNA and a more recently characterized gene, CYP4A22, that exhibits 95% identity to CYP4A11 in the coding region. These are unlikely to represent alleles because both genes were present in DNA samples from 100 of 100 individuals. Quantitative real-time PCR determined that CYP4A22 mRNA is expressed at significantly lower levels than CYP4A11 mRNA in human liver samples. The PPARalpha agonist Wy14643 induced CYP4A11 mRNA in confluent cultures of HepG2 cells stably expressing the murine PPARalpha-E282G mutant. This mutant exhibits a significantly decreased ligand-independent trans-activation and can be activated by Wy14643 to a level similar to that of wild-type PPARalpha. Dexamethasone induced CYP4A11 mRNA in both control and PPARalpha- E282G-expressing HepG2 cells, indicating that the induction of CYP4A11 by dexamethasone is independent of elevated PPARalpha expression. Wy14643 or dexamethasone induction of CYP4A22 mRNA was not evident in either control or PPARalpha -E282G-expressing HepG2 cells. The results indicate that CYP4A11 expression can be induced by glucocorticoids and peroxisome proliferators.     

Modulation of CYP3A4 expression by ceramide in human colon carcinoma HT-29 cells

Cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) enzyme is responsible for the metabolic activation and inactivation of the majority of clinically used drugs in human liver and intestines. Recent studies have increasingly implicated various inflammatory stimuli to cause changes in the activities and expression levels of CYPs. However, the underlying mechanisms are largely unknown. In the present study, our studies investigated the effects of ceramide on CYP3A4 expression in human colon carcinoma HT-29 cells. Treatment with the cell-permeable ceramide analog C(6)-ceramide to the cells significantly decreased the expression of CYP3A4. By contrast, C(6)-dihydroceramide, a biologically inactive analog of C(6)-ceramide, did not affect CYP3A4 expression. We found that bacterial sphingomyelinase (SMase) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF), which are known to increase intracellular ceramide levels, also markedly suppressed the synthesis of CYP3A4. To elucidate whether nitric oxide (NO) participates in suppression of CYP3A4 expression by ceramide, the effects of NO modulators were determined. Treatment with N(G)-monomethyl-L-arginine, a competitive inhibitor of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), was able to protect ceramide-dependent CYP3A4 suppression. In contrast, the addition of S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine, a NO donor, to HT-29 cells reduced CYP3A4 expression. The addition of iNOS antisense oligonucleotide prevented ceramide-mediated induction of iNOS expression and restored CYP3A4 expression. Wortmannin which is known to inhibit phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-K) blocked CYP3A4 suppression by ceramide. Taken together, our results demonstrate that ceramide-mediated suppression of CYP3A4 is due to production of NO, which might result from activation of PI3-K.     

Amelioration of PXR-mediated CYP3A4 induction by mGluR2 modulators

This work describes the rational amelioration of Cytochrome P450 4/5 (CYP3A4/5) induction through the Pregnane-X Receptor (PXR) pathway in a series of compounds that modulate the metabotropic glutamate Receptor 2 (mGluR2) via an allosteric mechanism. The compounds were initially shown to induce CYP3A4/5 via the gold-standard induction assay measured in primary human hepatocytes. This was followed up by testing the compounds in a PXR assay which correlated well with the assay in primary cells. Further, one of the compounds was crystallized with PXR (pdb code 6DUP). Analysis of this co-crystal structure, together with previously published PXR co-crystal structures, lead to modification ideas. The compounds synthesized based on these ideas were shown not to be CYP3A4/5 inducers. The mGluR2 activity of the resulting compounds was maintained.     

氯吡格雷对大鼠肝药物酶CYP3A4 和CYP1A2 表达的影响

目的：氯吡格雷主要由CYP3A4 催化使其激活,CYP1A2 也参与氯吡格雷活化。关于氯吡格雷对肝微粒体酶的影响国内外 文献报道不多,因此本实验通过检测肝细胞色素氧化酶CYP3A4 和CYP1A2 的表达,探讨氯吡格雷对大鼠肝药物酶的影 响。方法：生理盐水为对照组,氯吡格雷设高、中、低三个剂量组（27,13.5,6.75mg/kg/d）,雄性健康大鼠连续灌胃给药7天,脱臼处 死,取肝组织,通过western blot法检测大鼠肝脏CYP3A4 和CYP1A2 蛋白表达情况。结果：1）、氯吡格雷抑制大鼠CYP3A4 蛋白 表达,氯吡格雷高中低剂量组分别比生理盐水组大鼠CYP3A4 蛋白表达量降低（P<0.05）;氯吡格雷低中高剂量组间进行比较,大 鼠CYP3A4 蛋白表达量呈梯度减少（P<0.05）;2）、氯吡格雷抑制大鼠CYP1A2 蛋白表达,氯吡格雷高中低剂量组分别比生理盐水 组大鼠CYP1A2 蛋白表达量降低（P<0.05）,氯吡格雷低中高剂量组间进行比较,大鼠CYP1A2 蛋白表达量呈梯度减少（P<0.05）。 结论：氯吡格雷使肝细胞色素氧化酶CYP3A4 和CYP1A2 的表达量减少,因此氯吡格雷高、中、低3 个剂量组均不同程度的抑制 大鼠肝脏CYP3A4 和CYP1A2 的表达,提示当氯吡格雷与某些主要经CYP3A4 和CYP1A2 代谢的药物合用时,发生代谢性相关 作用的可能性大。     

氯吡格雷对大鼠肝药物酶CYP3A4和CYP1A2表达的影响

目的：氯吡格雷主要由CYP3A4催化使其激活,CYPlA2也参与氯吡格雷活化。关于氯吡格雷对肝微粒体酶的影响国内外文献报道不多,因此本实验通过检测肝细胞色素氧化酶CYP3A4和CYPlA2的表达,探讨氯吡格雷对大鼠肝药物酶的影响。方法：生理盐水为对照组,氯吡格雷设高、中、低三个剂量组（27,13．5,6．75mg／kg／d）,雄性健康大鼠连续灌胃给药7天,脱臼处死,取肝组织,通过westernblot法检测大鼠肝脏CYP3A4和CYPlA2蛋白表达情况。结果：1）、氯吡格雷抑制大鼠CYP3A4蛋白表达,氯吡格雷高中低剂量组分别比生理盐水组大鼠CYP3A4蛋白表达量降低（P〈0．05）;氯吡格雷低中高剂量组间进行比较,大鼠CYP3A4蛋白表达量呈梯度减少（P〈0．05）;2）、氯吡格雷抑制大鼠CYPlA2蛋白表达,氯吡格雷高中低剂量组分别比生理盐水组大鼠CYPlA2蛋白表达量降低（P〈0．05）,氯吡格雷低中高剂量组间进行比较,大鼠CYPlA2蛋白表达量呈梯度减少（P〈0．05）。结论：氯吡格雷使肝细胞色素氧化酶CYP3A4和CYPlA2的表达量减少,因此氯吡格雷高、中、低3个剂量组均不同程度的抑制大鼠肝脏CYP3A4和CYPlA2的表达,提示当氯吡格雷与某些主要经CYP3A4和CYPlA2代谢的药物合用时,发生代谢性相关作用的可能性大。     

Protein kinase Cδ and caspase‐3 modulate TRAIL‐induced apoptosis in breast tumor cells

This report describes that protein kinase C delta (PKCδ) overexpression prevents TRAIL‐induced apoptosis in breast tumor cells; however, the regulatory mechanism(s) involved in this phenomenon is(are) incompletely understood. In this study, we have shown that TRAIL‐induced apoptosis was significantly inhibited in PKCδ overexpressing MCF‐7 (MCF7/PKCδ) cells. Our data reveal that PKCδ inhibits caspase‐8 activation, a first step in TRAIL‐induced apoptosis, thus preventing TRAIL‐induced apoptosis. Inhibition of PKCδ using rottlerin or PKCδ siRNA reverses the inhibitory effect of PKCδ on caspase‐8 activation leading to TRAIL‐induced apoptosis. To determine if caspase‐3‐induced PKCδ cleavage reverses its inhibition on caspase‐8, we developed stable cell lines that either expresses wild‐type PKCδ (MCF‐7/cas‐3/PKCδ) or caspase‐3 cleavage‐resistant PKCδ mutant (MCF‐7/cas‐3/PKCδ mut) utilizing MCF‐7 cells expressing caspase‐3. Cells that overexpress caspase‐3 cleavage‐resistant PKCδ mutant (MCF‐7/cas‐3/PKCδmut) significantly inhibited TRAIL‐induced apoptosis when compared to wild‐type PKCδ (MCF‐7/cas‐3/PKCδ) expressing cells. In MCF‐7/cas‐3/PKCδmut cells, TRAIL‐induced caspase‐8 activation was blocked leading to inhibition of apoptosis when compared to wild‐type PKCδ (MCF‐7/cas‐3/PKCδ) expressing cells. Together, these results strongly suggest that overexpression of PKCδ inhibits caspase‐8 activation leading to inhibition of TRAIL‐induced apoptosis and its inhibition by rottlerin, siRNA, or cleavage by caspase‐3 sensitizes cells to TRAIL‐induced apoptosis. Clinically, PKCδ overexpressing tumors can be treated with a combination of PKCδ inhibitor(s) and TRAIL as a new treatment strategy. J. Cell. Biochem. 111: 979–987, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Enantioselectivity of inhibition of cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) by ketoconazole: Testosterone and methadone as substrates

Racemic ketoconazole (KTZ) was the first orally active azole antifungal agent used in clinical practice and has become widely used in the treatment of mucosal fungal infections associated with AIDS immunosuppression and cancer chemotherapy. However, the use of KTZ has been limited because of adverse drug-drug interactions. KTZ blocks ergosterol biosynthesis by inhibiting the fungal cytochrome P450 (CYP51). KTZ is also a potent inhibitor of human cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) enzyme, the major drug-metabolizing CYP isozyme in the human liver. We examined the enantioselective differences of KTZ in the inhibition of human CYP3A4 and in antifungal action. Dextro- and levo-KTZ exhibited modest enantioselective differences with respect to CYP3A4 inhibition of testosterone and methadone metabolism. For both substrates levo-KTZ was approximately a 2-fold more potent inhibitor. We examined the enantioselective differences in the in vitro activity of KTZ against medically relevant species of Candida and Aspergillus, as well as Cryptococcus neoformans. Overall, levo-KTZ was 2-4-fold more active than dextro-KTZ. Therefore, levo-KTZ is a more potent inhibitor of CYP3A4 and has stronger in vitro antifungal activity. Chirality 16:79-85, 2004.     

Probing the CYP3A4 active site by cysteine scanning mutagenesis and photoaffinity labeling

The mechanism of CYP3A4-substrate interactions has been investigated using a battery of techniques including cysteine scanning mutagenesis, photoaffinity labeling, and structural modeling. In this study, cysteine scanning mutagenesis was performed at seven sites within CYP3A4 proposed to be involved in substrate interaction and/or cooperativity. Photolabeled CYP3A4 peptide adducts were further characterized by mass spectrometric analysis for each mutant after proteolytic digestion and isolation of fluorescent photolabeled peptides. Among the tryptic peptides of seven tested mutants, three photolabeled peptides of the F108C mutant, ECYSVFTNR (positions 97-105), VLQNFSFKPCK (positions 459-469), and RPCGPVGFMK (positions 106-115) were identified by MALDI-TOF-MS and nano-LC/ESI QTOF MS. The site of modification was further localized to the substituted Cys-108 residue in the mutant peptide adduct RPCGPVGFMK (positions 106-115) by nano-LC/ESI QTOF MS/MS. In summary, we described a potentially useful method to study P450 active sites using a combination of cysteine scanning mutagenesis and photoaffinity labeling.     

CYP3A4 and CYP2D6 inhibitory activities of Indonesian medicinal plants

Thirty samples of Indonesian medicinal plants were analyzed for their capacity to inhibit in vitro metabolism by human cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) and CYP2D6 with a radiometric assay. The MeOH-soluble fractions of 25 samples, prepared from water extracts, demonstrated inhibitory activity more than 50% on the metabolism mediated by CYP3A4, and 21 samples on the metabolism mediated by CYP2D6. Among the MeOH-soluble fractions, Piper nigrum leaf showed the highest inhibitory activity against CYP3A4 (91.7%), and Punica granatum against CYP2D6 (98.1%). The water extracts of which MeOH-soluble fraction showed inhibitory activity more than 70% were fractionated with EtOAc. From the EtOAc-soluble fractions, Curcuma heyneana (67.0%), Pi. cubeba (75.0%), Pi. nigrum fruit (84.0%), Pi. nigrum leaf (85.8%), and Zingiber aromaticum (75.3%) demonstrated inhibitory activity more than 50% on the metabolism mediated by CYP3A4, but only Pi. nigrum fruit (72.8%) and Pi. nigrum leaf (69.1%) showed strong inhibitory activity against CYP2D6. For samples that showed more than 70% inhibition, their IC(50) values were determined. The most potent inhibitory activity against CYP3A4 (IC(50) value of 25 microg/ml) was found for the extract of Pi. nigrum leaf, while that of Catharanthus roseus showed the most potent inhibitory effect against CYP2D6 (IC(50) value of 11 microg/ml). These results should indicate once more the possibility of potential medicinal plant-drug interactions.     

Akt‐mediated anti‐apoptotic effects of substance P in Anti‐Fas‐induced apoptosis of human tenocytes

Substance P (SP) and its receptor, the neurokinin‐1 receptor (NK‐1 R), are expressed by human tenocytes, and they are both up‐regulated in cases of tendinosis, a condition associated with excessive apoptosis. It is known that SP can phosphorylate/activate the protein kinase Akt, which has anti‐apoptotic effects. This mechanism has not been studied for tenocytes. The aims of this study were to investigate if Anti‐Fas treatment is a good apoptosis model for human tenocytes in vitro, if SP protects from Anti‐Fas‐induced apoptosis, and by which mechanisms SP mediates an anti‐apoptotic response. Anti‐Fas treatment resulted in a time‐ and dose‐dependent release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), i.e. induction of cell death, and SP dose‐dependently reduced the Anti‐Fas‐induced cell death through a NK‐1 R specific pathway. The same trend was seen for the TUNEL assay, i.e. SP reduced Anti‐Fas‐induced apoptosis via NK‐1 R. In addition, it was shown that SP reduces Anti‐Fas‐induced decrease in cell viability as shown with crystal violet assay. Protein analysis using Western blot confirmed that Anti‐Fas induces cleavage/activation of caspase‐3 and cleavage of PARP; both of which were inhibited by SP via NK‐1 R. Finally, SP treatment resulted in phosphorylation/activation of Akt as shown with Western blot, and it was confirmed that the anti‐apoptotic effect of SP was, at least partly, induced through the Akt‐dependent pathway. In conclusion, we show that SP reduces Anti‐Fas‐induced apoptosis in human tenocytes and that this anti‐apoptotic effect of SP is mediated through NK‐1 R and Akt‐specific pathways.     

Testing the potency of anti‐TNF‐α and anti‐IL‐1β drugs using spheroid cultures of human osteoarthritic chondrocytes and donor‐matched chondrogenically differentiated mesenchymal stem cells

Inflammation plays a major role in progression of rheumatoid arthritis, a disease treated with antagonists of tumor necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α) and interleukin 1β (IL‐1β). New in vitro testing systems are needed to evaluate efficacies of new anti‐inflammatory biological drugs, ideally in a patient‐specific manner. To address this need, we studied microspheroids containing 10,000 human osteoarthritic primary chondrocytes (OACs) or chondrogenically differentiated mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), obtained from three donors. Hypothesizing that this system can recapitulate clinically observed effects of anti‐inflammatory drugs, spheroids were exposed to TNF‐α, IL‐1β, or to supernatant containing secretome from activated macrophages (MCM). The anti‐inflammatory efficacies of anti‐TNF‐α biologicals adalimumab, infliximab, and etanercept, and the anti‐IL‐1β agent anakinra were assessed in short‐term microspheroid and long‐term macrospheroid cultures (100,000 OACs). While gene and protein expressions were evaluated in microspheroids, diameters, amounts of DNA, glycosaminoglycans, and hydroxiproline were measured in macrospheroids. The tested drugs significantly decreased the inflammation induced by TNF‐α or IL‐1β. The differences in potency of anti‐TNF‐α biologicals at 24 h and 3 weeks after their addition to inflamed spheroids were comparable, showing high predictability of short‐term cultures. Moreover, the data obtained with microspheroids grown from OACs and chondrogenically differentiated MSCs were comparable, suggesting that MSCs could be used for this type of in vitro testing. We propose that in vitro gene expression measured after the first 24 h in cultures of chondrogenically differentiated MSCs can be used to determine the functionality of anti‐TNF‐α drugs in personalized and preclinical studies. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 34:1045–1058, 2018