Cytotoxicity of the redox cycling compound diquat in isolated hepatocytes: involvement of hydrogen peroxide and transition metals

Diquat is a hepatotoxin whose toxicity in vivo and in vitro is mediated by redox cycling and greatly enhanced by pretreatment with 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea (BCNU), an inhibitor of glutathione reductase. The mechanism by which redox cycling mediates diquat cytotoxicity is unclear, however. Here, we have attempted to examine the roles of three potential products of redox cycling, namely superoxide anion radical (O2-.), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and hydroxyl radical (.OH), in the toxicity of diquat to BCNU-treated isolated hepatocytes. Addition of high concentrations of catalase, but not superoxide dismutase, to the incubations provided some protection against the toxic effect of diquat, but much better protection was observed when catalase was added in combination with the iron chelator desferrioxamine. Addition of desferrioxamine alone also provided considerable protection, whereas the addition of copper ions enhanced diquat cytotoxicity. Taken together, these results indicate that both H2O2 and the transition metals iron and copper could play major roles in the cytotoxicity of diquat. The role of O2-. remains less clear, however, but studies with diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid indicate that O2-. is unlikely to significantly contribute to the reduction of Fe3+ to Fe2+. The hydroxyl radical or a related species seems the most likely ultimate toxic product of the H2O2/Fe2+ interaction, but hydroxyl radical scavengers afforded only minimal protection.     

Increased efflux rather than oxidation is the mechanism of glutathione depletion by 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)

Incubation of isolated hepatocytes in the presence of either the parkinsonian-inducing compound 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) or its putative toxic metabolite 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion (MPP+) led to a depletion of intracellular reduced glutathione (GSH), which was mostly recovered as glutathione disulfide (GSSG). However, both MPTP- and MPP+-induced glutathione perturbances were relatively unaffected by the prior inhibition of glutathione reductase with 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea (BCNU), suggesting that intracellular oxidation was not the major mechanism involved in the GSH loss. Inclusion of cystine in the incubation mixtures revealed a time-dependent formation of cysteinyl glutathione (CySSG), indicating that an increased efflux was mostly responsible for the MPTP- and MPP+-induced GSH depletion. Therefore, the measurement of GSSG, which is apparently formed extracellularly, was not associated with oxidative stress.     

Determination of the intracellular protein thiol distribution of hepatocytes using monobromobimane derivatisation of intact cells and isolated subcellular fractions

The derivatisation of intact rat hepatocytes with monobromobimane resulted in rapid labelling of accessible protein thiols in several subcellular fractions. The derivatisation procedure did not cause acute cytotoxicity, nor did it alter the buoyant densities of the fractions or their gross protein compositions. Quantitation of the fluorescence irreversibly associated with the fractions demonstrated considerable intracellular heterogeneity in this pool of thiols. Values were highest in cytosol (ca. 90 nmol/mg protein), intermediate in microsomes (ca. 65 nmol/mg protein) and mitochondria (ca. 45 nmol/mg protein) and lowest in a crude fraction containing both nuclei and plasma membrane (ca. 35 nmol/mg protein). Similar values were obtained from microsomes and cytosol derivatised after fractionation but there were significant increases of ca. 100% in corresponding values from isolated mitochondria and the nuclear/plasma membrane fraction. These results are discussed in terms of the dynamic fluxes in monobromobimane protein thiols during fractionation and the applicability of this noninvasive method to studies of the mechanism(s) of toxicity of reactive xenobiotics and the role(s) of protein thiols in normal cellular function.     

The role of oxidative processes in the cytotoxicity of substituted 1,4-naphthoquinones in isolated hepatocytes

In order to clarify the role of oxidative processes in cytotoxicity we have studied the metabolism and toxicity of 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone (menadione) and its 2,3 dimethyl (DMNQ) and 2,3 diethyl (DENQ) analogs in isolated rat hepatocytes. The two analogs, unlike menadione, cannot alkylate nucleophiles directly and were considerably less toxic than menadione. This decreased toxicity was consistent with the inability of DMNQ and DENQ to alkylate but we also found them to undergo lower rates of redox cycling in hepatocytes and a higher ratio of two electron as opposed to one electron reduction relative to menadione. Thus, facile analysis of the respective roles of alkylation and oxidation in cytotoxicity was not possible using these compounds. In hepatocytes pretreated with bischloroethyl-nitrosourea (BCNU) to inhibit glutathione reductase, all three naphthoquinones caused a potentiation of reduced glutathione (GSH) removal/oxidized glutathione (GSSG) generation and cytotoxicity relative to that observed in control cells. These data show that inhibition of hepatocyte glutathione reductase by BCNU results in enhanced naphthoquinone-induced oxidative challenge and subsequent cellular toxicity. That DMNQ and DENQ are cytotoxic, albeit at high concentrations, and that this cytotoxicity is potentiated by BCNU pretreatment suggest that oxidative processes alone can be a determinant of cytotoxicity.     

Biophysical and Biochemical Studies on Rhinovirus and Poliovirus II. Chemical and Hydrodynamic Analysis of the Rhinovirion

Chemical analysis of rhinovirus 14 revealed a ribonucleic acid (RNA) content of 29.8% and a high adenylic acid content (35%). A partial specific volume of 0.682 cm³/g was obtained for the rhinovirion. Rhinovirus and poliovirus had identical sedimentation coefficients of 158S. A diffusion coefficient of 1.71 × 10⁻⁷ cm²/sec was consistent with a hydrated diameter of 25 nm for the rhinovirion. The calculated molecular weights of the rhinovirion and its genome were 7.1 × 10⁶ and 2.1 × 10⁶ daltons, respectively. Sedimentation analysis of infectious RNA confirmed the similarity of the molecular size of the poliovirus and rhinovirus genomes.     

Experiments on resting site selection by nocturnal moths

When different species of moths are presented with a choice between black and white resting backgrounds, there is a strong correlation between the colour selected and the reflectance of the forewings. Under more natural conditions, light-coloured moths usually rest on fresh vegetation whilst dark-winged species select tree bark or rest upon the ground, and different defensive strategies appear to have been adopted by species in these two latter situations. Studies on the mechanism of background selection, and on background selection in polymorphic species, are reviewed.     

Thermoregulation during cold water immersion is unimpaired by low muscle glycogen levels

This investigation studied the importance of muscle glycogen levels for body temperature regulation during cold stress. Physiological responses of eight euglycemic males were measured while they rested in cold (18 degrees C, stirred) water on two separate occasions. The trials followed a 3-day program of diet and exercise manipulation designed to produce either high (HMG) or low (LMG) preimmersion glycogen levels in the muscles of the legs, arms, and upper torso. Preimmersion vastus lateralis muscle glycogen concentrations were lower during the LMG trial (144 +/- 14 mmol glucose/kg dry tissue) than the HMG trial (543 +/- 53 mmol glucose/kg dry tissue). There were no significant differences between the two trials in shivering as reflected by aerobic metabolic rate or in the amount of body cooling as reflected by changes in rectal temperature during the immersions. Postimmersion muscle glycogen levels remained unchanged from preimmersion levels in both trials. Small but significant increases in plasma glucose and lactate concentration occurred during both immersions. Plasma glycerol increased during immersion in the LMG trial but not in the HMG trial. Plasma free fatty acid concentration increased during both immersion trials, but the change was apparent sooner in the LMG immersion. It was concluded that thermoregulatory responses of moderately lean and fatter individuals exposed to cold stress were not impaired by a substantial reduction in the muscle glycogen levels of several major skeletal muscle groups. Furthermore, the data suggest that, depending on the intensity of shivering, other metabolic substrates are available to enable muscle glycogen to be spared.     

Activation of the c-H-ras proto-oncogene by retrovirus insertion and chromosomal rearrangement in a Moloney leukemia virus-induced T-cell leukemia.

A rearrangement of the c-H-ras locus was detected in a T-cell line (DA-2) established from a Moloney leukemia virus-induced tumor. This rearrangement was associated with the high-level expression of H-ras RNA and the H-ras gene product, p21. DNA from DA-2 cells transformed fibroblasts in DNA transfection experiments, and the transformed fibroblasts contained the rearranged H-ras locus. The rearrangement involved one allele and was present in tissue from the primary tumor from which the cell line was isolated. Cloning and sequencing of the rearranged allele and comparison with the normal allele demonstrated that the rearrangement was complex and probably resulted from the integration of a retrovirus in the H-ras locus between a 5' noncoding exon and the first coding exon and a subsequent homologous recombination between this provirus and another newly acquired provirus also located on chromosome 7. These events resulted in the translocation of the coding exons of the H-ras locus away from the 5' noncoding exon region to a new genomic site on chromosome 7. Sequencing of the coding regions of the gene failed to detect mutations in the 12th, 13th, 59th, or 61st codons. The possible reasons for the complexity of the rearrangement and the significance of the activation of the H-ras locus to T-cell transformation are discussed.     

The genes encoding the peripheral cannabinoid receptor and alpha-L-fucosidase are located near a newly identified common virus integration site, Evi11.

A new common region of virus integration, Evi11, has been identified in two retrovirally induced murine myeloid leukemia cell lines, NFS107 and NFS78. By interspecific backcross analysis, it was shown that Evi11 is located at the distal end of mouse chromosome 4, in a region that shows homology with human 1p36. The genes encoding the peripheral cannabinoid receptor (Cnr2) and alpha-L-fucosidase (Fuca1) were identified near the integration site by using a novel exon trapping system. Cnr2 is suggested to be the target gene for viral interference in Evi11, since proviruses are integrated in the first intron of Cnr2 and retroviral integrations alter mRNA expression of Cnr2 in NFS107 and NFS78. In addition, proviral integrations were demonstrated within the 3' untranslated region of Cnr2 in five independent newly derived CasBrM-MuLV (mouse murine leukemia virus) tumors, CSL13, CSL14, CSL16, CSL27, and CSL97. The Cnr2 gene encodes a seven-transmembrane G-protein-coupled receptor which is normally expressed in hematopoietic tissues. Our data suggest that the peripheral cannabinoid receptor gene might be involved in leukemogenesis as a result of aberrant expression of Cnr2 due to retroviral integration in Evi11.