Oxidative stress, metabolism of ethanol and alcohol-related diseases

Alcohol-induced oxidative stress is linked to the metabolism of ethanol. Three metabolic pathways of ethanol have been described in the human body so far. They involve the following enzymes: alcohol dehydrogenase, microsomal ethanol oxidation system (MEOS) and catalase. Each of these pathways could produce free radicals which affect the antioxidant system. Ethanol per se, hyperlactacidemia and elevated NADH increase xanthine oxidase activity, which results in the production of superoxide. Lipid peroxidation and superoxide production correlate with the amount of cytochrome P450 2E1. MEOS aggravates the oxidative stress directly as well as indirectly by impairing the defense systems. Hydroxyethyl radicals are probably involved in the alkylation of hepatic proteins. Nitric oxide (NO) is one of the key factors contributing to the vessel wall homeostasis, an important mediator of the vascular tone and neuronal transduction, and has cytotoxic effects. Stable metabolites--nitrites and nitrates--were increased in alcoholics (34.3 +/- 2.6 vs. 22.7 +/- 1.2 micromol/l, p < 0.001). High NO concentration could be discussed for its excitotoxicity and may be linked to cytotoxicity in neurons, glia and myelin. Formation of NO has been linked to an increased preference for and tolerance to alcohol in recent studies. Increased NO biosynthesis also via inducible NO synthase (NOS, chronic stimulation) may contribute to platelet and endothelial dysfunctions. Comparison of chronically ethanol-fed rats and controls demonstrates that exposure to ethanol causes a decrease in NADPH diaphorase activity (neuronal NOS) in neurons and fibers of the cerebellar cortex and superior colliculus (stratum griseum superficiale and intermedium) in rats. These changes in the highly organized structure contribute to the motor disturbances, which are associated with alcohol abuse. Antiphospholipid antibodies (APA) in alcoholic patients seem to reflect membrane lesions, impairment of immunological reactivity, liver disease progression, and they correlate significantly with the disease severity. The low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation is supposed to be one of the most important pathogenic mechanisms of atherogenesis, and antibodies against oxidized LDL (oxLDL) are some kind of epiphenomenon of this process. We studied IgG oxLDL and four APA (anticardiolipin, antiphosphatidylserine, antiphosphatidylethanolamine and antiphosphatidylcholine antibodies). The IgG oxLDL (406.4 +/- 52.5 vs. 499.9 +/- 52.5 mU/ml) was not affected in alcoholic patients, but oxLDL was higher (71.6 +/- 4.1 vs. 44.2 +/- 2.7 micromol/l, p < 0.001). The prevalence of studied APA in alcoholics with mildly affected liver function was higher than in controls, but not significantly. On the contrary, changes of autoantibodies to IgG oxLDL revealed a wide range of IgG oxLDL titers in a healthy population. These parameters do not appear to be very promising for the evaluation of the risk of atherosclerosis. Free radicals increase the oxidative modification of LDL. This is one of the most important mechanisms, which increases cardiovascular risk in chronic alcoholic patients. Important enzymatic antioxidant systems - superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase - are decreased in alcoholics. We did not find any changes of serum retinol and tocopherol concentrations in alcoholics, and blood and plasma selenium and copper levels were unchanged as well. Only the zinc concentration was decreased in plasma. It could be related to the impairment of the immune system in alcoholics. Measurement of these parameters in blood compartments does not seem to indicate a possible organ, e.g. liver deficiency.     

Expression of human Fas ligand on mouse beta islet cells does not induce insulitis but is insufficient to confer immune privilege for islet grafts

Fas (CD95) and Fas ligand (FasL/CD95L) are involved in programmed cell death and the regulation of host immune responses. FasL has been shown to provide immune privilege, thus prolonging the survival of unmatched grafts in a variety of tissues, such as eyes and testis. In murine FasL (mFasL) transgenic mice, FasL provoked granulocyte infiltration and insulitis in the pancreas. We intended to study whether the expression of human FasL, instead of mFasL, on mouse beta islet cells could avoid granulocyte infiltration, and whether islet cells transgenic for FasL could be used in islet transplantation. We produced transgenic mice in which the human FasL transgene was driven by rat insulin promoter and was expressed exclusively in the pancreas islet cells in ICR mice. In contrast to mFasL transgenic mice, histochemical staining showed that the pancreas was intact in human FasL transgenic ICR mice. However, when human FasL transgenic islet cells were transplanted into allogeneic mice with streptozotocin-induced diabetes, human FasL appeared not to prolong graft survival. Intensive granulocyte infiltration into the islet grafts was observed in recipients (Balb/c mice) which received islet grafts from human FasL transgenic mice, but not from nontransgenic, allogeneic ICR mice on day 31. Our observations suggest that FasL alone is insufficient to confer immune protection, and that other environmental factors might contribute to the formation of immune privilege sites in vivo Copyright 2001 National Science Council, ROC and S. Karger AG, Basel.     

The Finland-United States investigation of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus genetics (FUSION) study. II. An autosomal genome scan for diabetes-related quantitative-trait loci

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a complex disorder encompassing multiple metabolic defects. We report results from an autosomal genome scan for type 2 diabetes-related quantitative traits in 580 Finnish families ascertained for an affected sibling pair and analyzed by the variance components-based quantitative-trait locus (QTL) linkage approach. We analyzed diabetic and nondiabetic subjects separately, because of the possible impact of disease on the traits of interest. In diabetic individuals, our strongest results were observed on chromosomes 3 (fasting C-peptide/glucose: maximum LOD score [MLS] = 3.13 at 53.0 cM) and 13 (body-mass index: MLS = 3.28 at 5.0 cM). In nondiabetic individuals, the strongest results were observed on chromosomes 10 (acute insulin response: MLS = 3.11 at 21.0 cM), 13 (2-h insulin: MLS = 2.86 at 65.5 cM), and 17 (fasting insulin/glucose ratio: MLS = 3.20 at 9.0 cM). In several cases, there was evidence for overlapping signals between diabetic and nondiabetic individuals; therefore we performed joint analyses. In these joint analyses, we observed strong signals for chromosomes 3 (body-mass index: MLS = 3.43 at 59.5 cM), 17 (empirical insulin-resistance index: MLS = 3.61 at 0.0 cM), and 19 (empirical insulin-resistance index: MLS = 2.80 at 74.5 cM). Integrating genome-scan results from the companion article by Ghosh et al., we identify several regions that may harbor susceptibility genes for type 2 diabetes in the Finnish population.     

Mechanism-based inactivation of cytochrome P450 3A4 by L-754,394

Mechanism-based inactivation of human liver P450 3A4 by L-754,394, a Merck compound synthesized as a potential HIV protease inhibitor, was investigated using recombinant P450 3A4. Enzyme inactivation was characterized by a small partition ratio (3.4 or 4.3 +/- 0.4), i.e., the total number of metabolic events undergone by the inhibitor divided by the number of enzyme inactivating events, lack of reversibility upon extensive dialysis, no decrease in the characteristic 450-nm species relative to control, and covalent modification of the apoprotein. The major and minor products formed during the inactivation of P450 3A4 were the monohydroxylated and the dihydrodiol metabolites of L-754,394, respectively. L-754,394 that had been adducted to P450 3A4 was hydrolyzed under the conditions used for SDS-PAGE, Ni(2+) affinity chromatography, and proteolytic digestion. In addition, the modification was not stable to the acidic conditions of HPLC separation and CNBr digestion. The labile nature of the peptide adduct and the nonstoichiometric binding of the inactivating species to P450 3A4 precluded the direct identification of a covalently modified amino acid residue or the peptide to which it was attached. However, Tricine SDS-PAGE in combination with MALDI-TOF-MS and homology modeling, allowed I257-M317 to be tentatively identified as an active site peptide, while prior knowledge of the stability of N-, O-, and S-linked conjugates of activated furans implicates Glu307 as the active site amino acid that is labeled by L-754, 394.