Erythromycin Demethylase Activity Research Articles

Hepatic Cytochrome P450 as Biomarkers of Cypermethrin Toxicity in Freshwater Teleost, Channa punctatus (Bloch)

In this study, Channa punctatus was treated with sub-lethal concentration of cypermethrin (6.6 µg/L) for 5, 10 and 15 days and its effect on total CYP 450 and the activity of hepatic CYP450 isoforms measured. Total CYP450 content and CYP1A mediated EROD activity was significantly induced (p<0.05) in all three treated groups compared to control whereas only 15 days treated group showed significant induction in CYP2B mediated N,Ndimethylaniline demethylase activity. CYP2E1 mediated aniline hydroxylase activity showed only a marginal increase while there was inhibition of CYP3A4 mediated erythromycin demethylase activity. Liver somatic index (LSI) also showed a marginal increase in all the treated groups. Results showed differential induction of CYP1A, CYP2B, CYP2E1 and inhibition of CYP3A4 isoform due to cypermethrin treatment in C. punctatus. The study clearly showed CYP1A isoform as the most responsive and important biomarker for monitoring the aquatic pollution.

Hepatic cytochrome P450 activity and pollutant concentrations in paradise shelducks and southern black-backed gulls in the South Island of New Zealand

Cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes catalyse the oxidative metabolism of various xenobiotics including environmental pollutants. We investigated liver microsomal CYP marker activities in 60 paradise shelducks (Tadorna variegata; herbivore) and 77 southern black-backed gulls (Larus dominicanus; omnivore) collected at three sites with putatively different levels of pollution in the South Island of New Zealand. Ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) activity was high in birds at an urban landfill site compared to those at a relatively pristine and an agricultural site. Analysis of p-nitrophenol hydroxylase and erythromycin demethylase activities indicated the presence of two additional CYP isoforms in shelducks but no additional form in gulls. Total polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations (ranges: shelducks, 0.073-6.2; gulls, 8.2-330 ng/g wet weight) were high in landfill samples suggesting a link to EROD induction and, in landfill shelducks, EROD was independently associated with Hg and Pb concentration. PCB congener-specific assessments indicated the metabolism of at least two congeners (#28 and #74) is induced in shelducks. DDE concentrations (ranges: shelducks, 0.85-320; gulls, 44-4800 ng/g) were high in birds at the landfill and agricultural sites. Body weight tended to be lower in landfill birds, but whether this reflects the greater energetic demands of pollutant detoxification remains to be investigated.

PXR and the regulation of apoA1 and HDL-cholesterol in rodents

Orphan nuclear receptors (ONRs) have been implicated in the regulation of lipids. Several clinical studies conducted either prospectively or epidemiologically have pointed to a link between the regulation of hepatic CYP enzymes and HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) and/or apolipoprotein A1 (apoA1). The treatment of rats with a series of imidazole inducers of CYP3A yielded correlations between in vitro CYP3A activity measured as erythromycin demethylase activity and plasma HDL-C and hepatic apoA1 mRNA. Similarly, a correlation was established between in vivo CYP3A activity, measured as ethosuximide clearance, and plasma HDL-C and hepatic apoA1 mRNA. The treatment of wild-type (WT) mice with PXR agonists elicited increases in serum HDL-C and serum apoA1 levels. On the other hand, the treatment of PXR-knockout mice (PXR-KOs) with the same PXR agonists failed to elicit increases in either serum HDL-C or serum apoA1 levels. Superposition of the structures of three imidazoles known to be active CYP3A inducers in rats with the human PXR pharmacophore demonstrated a partial fit and predicted EC 50 values typical of weak-moderate hPXR inducers in humans. These imidazoles have been shown to increase apoA1 and HDL-C in rats and mice. Taken together, these data suggest that PXR plays an important role in the regulation of apoA1 and HDL-C in rodents.

CAR/PXR provide directives for Cyp3a41 gene regulation differently from Cyp3a11

This study reports that Cyp3a41 gene contains 13 exons and is localized on the chromosome 5. CYP3A41 is a female-specific isoform that is predominantly expressed in the liver. Estrogen signaling is not responsible for its female specificity. CYP3A41 expression in kidney and brain is observed only in 50% of mice examined. PXR mediates dexamethasone-dependent suppression of CYP3A41. In contrast to CYP3A11, CYP3A41 expression is not induced by pregnenolone-16alpha-carbonitrile (PCN) in wild-type mice, but is significantly suppressed by PCN in PXR(-/-) mice. Phenobarbital and TCPOBOP induce CYP3A11 expression only in the presence of CAR, but have no effect on CYP3A41 expression. Immunoblot and erythromycin demethylase activity analysis reveal robust CYP3A induction after PCN treatment, which is poorly correlated to CYP3A41. These findings suggest a differential role for CAR/PXR in regulating individual CYP3A isoforms by previously characterized CYP3A inducers.

Differential effects of garlic oil and its three major organosulfur components on the hepatic detoxification system in rats.

The objective of this study was to compare the modulatory effect of garlic oil and its three organosulfur compounds, diallyl sulfide (DAS), diallyl disulfide (DADS), and diallyl trisulfide (DATS), on rat hepatic detoxification enzyme activity, and protein and mRNA expression. Rats were orally administered garlic oil (80 or 200 mg/kg bw), DAS (20 or 80 mg/kg bw), DADS (80 mg/kg bw), or DATS (70 mg/kg bw) three times a week for 6 weeks. Control rats received corn oil. According to the results, garlic oil and DAS in dosages of 200 and 80 mg/kg bw, respectively, significantly increased pentoxyresorufin O-dealkylase (PROD) activity as compared with the that of the control rats (P < 0.05). In contrast, N-nitrosodimethylamine demethylase activity in rats that received DADS and DATS was significantly lower than that in the control rats (P < 0.05). Ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase and erythromycin demethylase activities were not influenced by garlic oil, DAS, DADS, or DATS. To the phase II enzyme, garlic oil, DADS, and DATS significantly increased the glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity toward ethacrynic aicd (P < 0.05). Immunoblot assay showed that the protein contents of cytochrome P450 1A1, 2B1, and 3A1 were increased by garlic oil and each of three allyl sulfides, and the change among the allyl sulfides was in the order of DAS > DADS > DATS. The placental form of GST (PGST) level was also increased by garlic oil and the three allyl sulfides, but the increase among the allyl sulfides was DATS congruent with DADS > DAS. P450 2E1, however, was suppressed by each garlic component. Northern blot results indicated that the changes in P450 1A1, 2B1, 3A1, and PGST mRNA levels by garlic components were similar to those noted in the protein levels. These results indicate that the modulatory effect of garlic oil on hepatic drug-metabolizing enzymes can be attributed to its three major allyl sulfide components DAS, DADS, and DATS. These three allyl sulfides vary in modulatory activity, and this variation is related to the number of sulfur atoms in the molecule.

Differential effects of phenobarbital on the constitutive and inducible expression of P450 2B and 3A subfamilies in sheep tissues

The activity and expression of cytochromes P450 were determined in liver, kidneys, lungs, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, and caecum of adult Lacaune sheep. High expression of total P450, benzphetamine and erythromycin demethylase activities, and P450 2B isoforms, as two distinct proteins that were detected and called P4502 Bm and P4502 Bx, was found in the lungs (in addition to liver). By contrast, the P450 3A subfamily was only expressed in liver and duodenal mucosa of untreated sheep. Phenobarbital (PB) treatment led to significant increases in all measured hepatic parameters and in total P450 of each investigated organ with the exception of ileum and caecum. Benzphetamine demethylase activity increased in liver and kidneys, correlating with the expression of the two P450 2B proteins, which were also induced in duodenum and ileum. By contrast, benzphetamine demethylase activity and expression of the P450 2B isoforms in lungs were unchanged by PB treatment. Erythromycin demethylation activity and P450 3A subfamily expression was increased only in liver of PB-treated sheep.

CYP3A-inducing agents and the attenuation of uroporphyrin accumulation and excretion in a rat model of porphyria cutanea tarda

An experimental model of porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT) can be achieved in 3 weeks by a single injection of a mixture of polychlorinated biphenyls (Aroclor 1254) into iron-loaded female Fischer 344 rats maintained continuously on δ-aminolevulinic acid-supplemented drinking water. In this model, daily treatment with 5-pregnen-3β-ol-20-one-16α-carbonitrile (pregnenolone 16α-carbonitrile) attenuated uroporphyrin and heptacarboxylporphyrin accumulation and excretion by 75%. Pregnenolone 16α-carbonitrile treatment had only a minor effect on hepatic iron stores, and it had no effect on the induction of CYP1A activities by Aroclor 1254. In the absence of Aroclor 1254, pregnenolone 16α-carbonitrile had no effect on the accumulation and excretion of highly carboxylated porphyrins. Attenuation of porphyrin accumulation could also be demonstrated with daily troleandomycin treatment. Troleandomycin increased CYP3A-dependent erythromycin demethylase activity, but to a lesser extent than pregnenolone 16α-carbonitrile. Much of the CYP3A induced by troleandomycin was sequestered as a catalytically inactive metabolic-intermediate complex. In the absence of Aroclor 1254, troleandomycin had no effect on the accumulation and excretion of highly carboxylated porphyrins, nor did troleandomycin alter the induction of CYP1A by Aroclor 1254. The results suggest that the major attenuation of hepatic accumulation and urinary excretion of uro- and heptacarboxylporphyrins in the rat PCT model by pregnenolone 16α-carbonitrile and troleandomycin is due to an enhancement of CYP3A catalytic activity.

Synthetic peptide mimics of a predicted topographical interaction surface: the cytochrome P450 2B1 recognition domain for NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase.

In order to identify the cytochrome P450-binding domain for NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase, synthetic peptide mimics of predicted surface regions of rat cytochrome P450 2B 1 were constructed and evaluated for inhibition of the P450-reductase interaction. A peptide corresponding to residues 116-134, which includes the C helix, completely inhibited reductase-mediated benzphetamine demethylation by purified P450 2B1. Replacement of Arg-125 by Glu yielded a noninhibitory peptide, suggesting that this residue significantly contributes to the reductase-P450 interaction. Additional P450 peptides were prepared which correspond to combinations of regions distant in primary sequence, but predicted to be spatially proximate. A peptide derived from segments of the C and L helices was a more potent inhibitor than peptides derived from either segment alone. This topographically designed peptide not only inhibited P450 2B1 in its purified form, but also when membrane-bound in rat liver microsomes. The peptide also inhibited microsomal aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase, aniline hydroxylase, and erythromycin demethylase activities derived from other P450s. These results indicate that the C and L helices contribute to a reductase-binding site common to multiple P450s, and present a peptide mimic for this region that is useful for inhibition of P450-mediated microsomal activities.

Ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate counteracts the decrease of liver cytochrome P-450 content in burned rats.

The effect of ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate (OKG) on cytochrome P-450 enzyme activities was studied in a well-defined model of injury (burn followed by fasting then subsequent hypocaloric diet) administered to young rats for 3 d. Hepatic microsomes were prepared by ultracentrifugation and levels of cytochromes P-450 were determined spectrophotometrically. The activities of ethoxy-resorufin-O-deethylase (EROD), benzyloxy-resorufin-O-dealkylase (BROD), and erythromycin demethylase were measured as markers of P-450 1A, 2A, and 3A isotypes respectively. The level of total hepatic microsomal proteins (8 mg/mL) remained constant. The level of cytochrome P-450 (1.14+/-0.08 nmol/mg microsomal proteins) was decreased by a hypocaloric diet (23%, P = 0.003) and burn further enhanced this phenomenon (15%, P = 0.03). Both healthy and burned rats receiving OKG showed the same level of cytochrome P-450 as the rats fed ad libitum. OKG supplementation counteracted the enhancement (40%) of EROD activity induced by hypocaloric diet but did not influence BROD and erythromycin demethylase activities. OKG sustained cytochrome P-450 levels in rats fed a hypocaloric diet, even after burning. These findings indicate that OKG may favor drug metabolism in this injured population.

Differential inducibility of specific mRNA corresponding to five CYP3A isoforms in female rat liver by RU486 and food deprivation: Comparison with protein abundance and enzymic activities

The induction of cytochrome P450 3A (CYP3A) protein and mRNA by RU486 [17β-hydroxy-11β-(4-dimethylaminophenyl)-17α-1-propyl-estra-4,9-dien-3-one] treatment and food deprivation in female rat liver was studied using Western blotting and competitive reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). CYP3A apoprotein levels increased in response to food deprivation and to RU486 treatment, and the combination of RU486 treatment plus food deprivation had an apparent additive effect. Food deprivation and RU486 treatment also caused increases in CYP3A1, CYP3A18, and CYP3A23 mRNA, and the combined effects of these treatments on each of these mRNA forms were synergistic. CYP3A2 mRNA was not detected in any of the treatment groups, and there was a lack of concordance between CYP3A9 mRNA levels and the specific messages corresponding to the other CYP3A isoforms. CYP3A9 mRNA levels were highest in food-deprived animals, whereas RU486 inhibited CYP3A9 mRNA expression and suppressed the induction effect of food deprivation. Food deprivation and RU486 treatment each separately caused increased microsomal diazepam C 3-hydroxylase activity, and the combined effects of these treatments on this monooxygenase were additive. In contrast, the [ N- methyl- 14C]erythromycin demethylase activity of the fasted, RU486-treated group of rats did not differ from that of the untreated group, and kinetic analyses revealed that both groups of animals exhibited similar K m and V max values. These results suggest that CYP3A9 may be primarily responsible for erythromycin N-demethylation and that the isoforms induced by the combination of fasting and RU486 administration are CYP3A1, CYP3A23, and, to a lesser extent, CYP3A18.

Insulin-mimetic effects of vanadate in preventing the increase of P450IIIA and P450IA subfamily proteins in streptozotocin-diabetic rats.

The insulin-mimetic effects of vanadate in preventing the increase in the level and activity of several P450 proteins in streptozotocin-diabetic rats were examined, in order to extend knowledge of the insulin-like actions of vanadate from glucose metabolism to P450-dependent metabolism. The diabetic state caused by the pancreatic beta cell toxin streptozotocin results, like the diabetes of genetic origin, in major alterations in the expression of P450 isozymes. We focused our attention on the P450III and P450I isoforms, known to be altered during the onset of diabetes. We found an increase in P450IIIA1-linked erythromycin demethylase activity (to about double the control level) and in the relative levels of P450III and P450I isozymes after 2 weeks of uncontrolled diabetes. These parameters were not different from control values in rats given vanadate in drinking water for 2 weeks after streptozotocin administration or in insulin-treated rats. In summary, vanadate appears to exert insulin-mimetic actions on the P450III and P450I family proteins that have a key role in cytochrome P450-dependent metabolism.

Differential regulation of liver P-450III cytochromes in choline-deficient rats: Implications for the erythromycin breath test as a parameter of liver function

Progressive liver fibrosis in rats develops when they are fed a diet deficient in choline. This diet also results in a pronounced and selective decrease in the liver microsomal content of a phase I drug-metabolizing enzyme belonging to the cytochrome P-450III gene family. Because P-450III cytochromes characteristically catalyze the N-demethylation of erythromycin, we believed that the production of breath CO2 from erythromycin would be dramatically reduced in choline-deficient rats. However, when 12 choline-deficient rats were compared with 9 control rats, the reduction in CO2 production from erythromycin (mean decrease 71%) was essentially identical to that from aminopyrine (mean decrease 69%), a substrate believed to be metabolized normally by the hepatocyte in fibrotic liver disease. Furthermore, we found that the relative erythromycin and aminopyrine demethylase activities were comparable when measured in vitro in liver microsomes prepared from the choline-deficient rats. To determine the molecular basis for the erythromycin demethylase activity in the choline-deficient rats, the liver microsomes were subjected to immunoblot analysis using a variety of polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies capable of distinguishing individual P-450III-related proteins. Our studies confirm that a major erythromycin demethylase belonging to the P-450III family, termed P-450p, was greatly reduced in the choline-deficient rat liver. However, the specific concentration of a second P-450p-related protein was essentially normal and that of a third P-450p-related protein was actually increased in the choline-deficient rat liver.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Characterization of a phenobarbital-inducible dog liver cytochrome P450 structurally related to rat and human enzymes of the P450IIIA (steroid-inducible) gene subfamily

A cytochrome P450 called PBD-1 isolated from liver microsomes of an adult male Beagle dog treated with phenobarbital (PB) is structurally and functionally similar to members of the P450IIIA gene subfamily in rat and human liver microsomes. The sequence of the first 28 amino-terminal residues of PBD-1 is identical in 15 and 20 positions, respectively, to the P450IIIA forms P450p from rat and P450 NF (and HLp) from human. Upon immunoblot analysis, anti-PBD-1 IgG recognizes PCNa (P450p) and PCNb (PB/PCN-E) from rat, P450 NF from human, and two proteins in liver microsomes from both untreated and PB-treated dogs. Similarly, anti-PCNb IgG cross-reacts with PBD-1 and with at least one protein in microsomes from untreated dogs and two proteins in microsomes from PB-treated dogs. P450IIIA-form marker steroid 6β-hydroxylase activities increase 2.5-fold upon PB-treatment of dogs and are selectively inhibited by anti-PBD-1 IgG. NADPH-dependent triacetyloleandomycin (TAO) complex formation and erythromycin demethylase, also marker activities for P450IIIA forms from rats and humans, increase 4- and 5-fold in dog liver microsomes upon PB treatment, whereas immunochemically reactive PBD-1 is induced 3-fold. In microsomes from PB-treated dogs, 5 mg anti-PBD-1 IgG/nmol P450 inhibits greater than 75 and 50% of TAO complex formation and erythromycin demethylase activity, respectively. TAO complex formation is not inhibited by chloramphenicol, a selective inhibitor of the major PB-inducible dog liver cytochrome P450, PBD-2. These data suggest that PBD-1 or another immunochemically related form is responsible for a major portion of macrolide antibiotic metabolism by microsomes from PB-treated dogs and for steroid 6β-hydroxylation by microsomes from both untreated and PB-treated dogs. Major species differences were noted, however, in the apparent K m for 6β-hydroxylation of androstenedione by liver microsomes from untreated rats (24 μ m), humans (380 μ m), and untreated dogs (4700 μ m).

Identification of glucocorticoid-inducible cytochromes P-450 in the intestinal mucosa of rats and man.

We used monoclonal antibodies and complementary DNAs (cDNAs) to glucocorticoid-inducible liver cytochromes P-450 in rats (P-450p) and in man (HLp) to search for related cytochromes in intestinal mucosa. In rat enterocytes, we found two dexamethasone-inducible proteins related to the steroid-inducible liver cytochromes P-450. Induction of these proteins in enterocytes was associated with increases in the amount of a P-450p-related messenger RNA and of erythromycin demethylase, an activity highly characteristic of P-450p and HLp. Similar studies on human jejunal enterocytes revealed a microsomal protein indistinguishable from HLp on immunoblots and an abundance of RNA hybridizing with HLp cDNA. In human enterocytes the specific concentration of the HLp-related cytochrome (measured immunochemically or as erythromycin demethylase activity) was similar to that found in human liver and could account for all of the CO-binding hemo-protein detected. We conclude that the intestinal mucosa contains prominent form(s) of cytochromes P-450 similar to liver cytochrome P-450p in their structure, function, and some regulatory characteristics.

Identification of the cytochrome P-450 induced by macrolide antibiotics in rat liver as the glucocorticoid responsive cytochrome P-450p

We administered triacetyloleandomycin (TAO) to rats and found that this macrolide antibiotic is the most efficacious inducer of liver microsomal cytochrome P-450 (P-450) examined to date. Liver microsomes prepared from TAO-treated rats contained greater than 5.0 nmol of P-450/mg of protein and a single induced protein as judged by analysis on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. This protein comigrated with P-450p, the major form of P-450 induced in liver microsomes of rats treated with pregnenolone-16 alpha-carbonitrile (PCN) or dexamethasone (DEX). On immunoblots of such gels developed with antibodies to P-450p, the TAO-induced protein reacted strongly as a single band. There was strict parallelism between the amount of immunoreactive P-450p in liver microsomes prepared from untreated rats or from rats treated with phenobarbital, TAO, DEX, or PCN, the ability of these microsomes to catalyze conversion of TAO to a metabolite which forms a spectral complex, and the ethylmorphine and erythromycin demethylase activities. Antibodies to P-450p specifically blocked microsomal TAO metabolite complex formation and ethylmorphine and erythromycin demethylase activities. Moreover, anti-P-450p antibodies completely immunoprecipitated solubilized TAO metabolite complexes prepared by detergent treatment of liver microsomes obtained from TAO-treated rats. Finally, we found that the major form of P-450 isolated from liver microsomes of TAO-treated rats and purified to homogeneity was indistinguishable from purified P-450p as judged by molecular weights, spectral characteristics, enzymatic activities, ability to bind TAO, peptide maps, and amino-terminal amino acid sequences. We concluded that, in addition to glucocorticoids, macrolide antibiotics are specific inducers of P-450p.