International Commission for Protection against Environmental Mutagens and Carcinogens. ICPEMC Working Paper No. 15/2. Metabolism and metabolic effects of ethanol, including interaction with drugs, carcinogens and nutrition

Different pathways of alcohol metabolism, the alcohol dehydrogenase pathway, the microsomal ethanol-oxidizing system and the catalase pathway are discussed. Alcohol consumption leads to accelerated ethanol metabolism by different mechanisms including an increased microsomal function. Microsomal induction leads to interactions of ethanol with drugs, hepatotoxic agents, steroids, vitamins and to an increased activation of mutagens/carcinogens. A number of ethanol-related complications may be explained by the production of its first metabolite, acetaldehyde, such as alterations of mitochondria, increased lipid peroxidation and microtubular alterations with its adverse effects on various cellular activities, including disturbances of cell division. Nutritional factors in alcoholics such as malnutrition are discussed especially with respect to its possible relation to cancer.     

Influence of lactate on isoproterenol-induced lipolysis and beta-adrenoceptors distribution in human fat cells

The influence of lactate on human adipocytes lipolysis and the possible relationship between lactate-induced metabolic effects and beta-adrenoceptor binding sites were investigated. beta-sites were identified in membranes with (125I)-cyanopindolol and in intact cells with (125I)-cyanopindolol and (3H)-CGP 12177. Lactate reduced isoproterenol-induced lipolysis in a dose-response fashion and such inhibition became significant only at 16 mmol/l lactate. Exposure of human fat cells to 16 mmol/l lactate significantly reduced beta-adrenoceptors density on crude membranes. When the binding assay was performed on intact cells using (125I)-cyanopindolol at 37 degrees C, the radioligand identified the same number of receptors, regardless of the presence of lactate in the preincubation medium. When (3H)-CGP 12177 was used, it bound to about 35% less receptors in lactate pre-treated cells than in control. Seemingly, at 37 degrees C, because of its lipophilicity, (125I)-cyanopindolol can cross the plasma membrane and bind to intracellular sites whereas, (3H)-CGP 1277, due to its hydrophilicity, identifies surface receptors only. Thus, the present in vitro study provides evidence that high levels of lactate, similar to the concentrations usually achieved in overt lactic acidosis, are able per se to inhibit human lipolysis and to redistribute beta-adrenoceptors from cell surface to a domain not accessible to hydrophilic ligands.     

Human erythrocyte glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. Identification of a reactive lysyl residue labelled with pyridoxal 5'-phosphate

Human erythrocyte glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase contains a reactive lysyl residue, which can be labelled with pyridoxal 5'-phosphate. The binding of one mole of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate per mole of enzyme subunit produces substantial inactivation. The substrate glucose-6-phosphate prevents the loss of activity, suggesting that the reaction site is close to the substrate-binding site. A tryptic peptide containing the pyridoxal-5'-phosphate-binding lysyl residue has been isolated and characterised. The reactive lysyl residue has been identified in the glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase amino acid sequence. Comparison with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase from other sources shows a high homology with a peptide containing a reactive lysyl residue, isolated from the enzyme from Saccharomyces cerevisiae; glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase from Leuconostoc mesenteroides also contains a region highly homologous with the sequence around the reactive lysyl residue in the human enzyme. The results of this communication provide the first direct evidence for the association of an essential catalytic function with a specific region of the molecule of human erythrocyte glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase.     

Immunological detection of proteins phosphorylated at tyrosine in cells stimulated by growth factors or transformed by retroviral-oncogene-coded tyrosine kinases

The receptors for polypeptide growth factors and proteins coded by oncogenes of the src family are endowed with protein kinase activity and share the uncommon property of autophosphorylating at tyrosine residues. It is unclear whether the tyrosine kinase activity is also directed towards other targets of physiological significance. In this work, phosphotyrosine antibodies were used to detect, by Western blots and immunoprecipitation, proteins phosphorylated at tyrosine in fibroblasts either stimulated by growth factors (PDGF and EGF) or transformed by oncogene-coded tyrosine kinases. In stimulated cells the antibodies detected the autophosphorylated receptors, but only trace amounts of other proteins phosphorylated at tyrosine. In fibroblasts transformed by retroviral oncogenes (v-src, v-abl, v-fps or v-fes) proteins other than the corresponding oncogene-coded kinase, were found. A p70 was found to be heavily phosphorylated in fibroblasts transformed by v-src, v-fes and v-fps. A p130 and a p36 were found in cells transformed by v-src and v-abl. A unique p70 was phosphorylated in v-abl-transformed fibroblasts. These proteins were also phosphorylated in vitro in an immunocomplex kinase reaction. This reaction was blocked by the specific kinase inhibitors. These data strongly suggest that tyrosine kinases phosphorylate protein targets other than themselves. These targets are barely detectable in normal cells stimulated by growth factors, where the kinase activity is triggered rapidly and transiently. By contrast, a number of intracellular proteins phosphorylated at tyrosine accumulate in cells transformed by v-onc-coded kinases, endowed with constitutive and non-regulated enzymatic activity.     

Structural differences in the cell binding region of human fibronectin molecules isolated from cultured normal and tumor-derived human cells

Fibronectins isolated from human plasma (pFN) and from the conditioned media of normal (N-cFN) and tumor (T-cFN) human cells were compared by cathepsin D digestion followed by immunostaining of released fragments with the monoclonal antibody 3E3, specific for the cell binding site. Two different staining patterns were obtained, one specific for pFN and N-cFN, the second common to fibronectins from the 3 different kinds of tumors studied. This indicates structural differences between N-cFN and T-cFN in the cell binding region of the fibronectin molecule.     

Rationalization of some genetic anticodonic assignments

The genetic code appears to be a logic matrix in which, generally speaking, there is a correlation between the hydrophobicities of amino acids and their anticodonic nucleotides. There are several exceptions to this generality, however, and using previous data on hydrophobicity and binding constants, coupled with new data on reaction rates, we rationalize several of the anticodonic assignments.     

Glutathione redox cycle enzyme activities in erythrocytes of multiple sclerosis patients

The erythrocytes of multiple sclerosis patients with elevated superoxide dismutase levels were tested for the activities of glutathione redox cycle enzymes. No differences were observed between multiple sclerosis and normal control erythrocytes when the activities were referred to either hemoglobin concentration or lactate dehydrogenase content. Our results indicate that no adaptative changes occur in the activities of glutathione redox cycle enzymes in erythrocytes of multiple sclerosis subjects as a consequence of an elevated superoxide dismutase level.