Huh7 Hepatocytes Research Articles

Effective metabolism and long intracellular half life of the anti-Hepatitis B agent adefovir in hepatic cells

Adefovir dipivoxil (ADV) is esterolytically cleaved to the 2′-deoxyadenosine monophosphate (dAMP) analog adefovir, subsequent phosphorylation leads to the formation of the anti-Hepatitis B virus (HBV) agent adefovir-DP. To better understand the mechanism of action of ADV, metabolism studies were done in Hep G2, Huh-7 and primary human hepatocytes. Separation of radiolabeled adefovir metabolites after incubation in Hep G2 cells suggested that adefovir in its mono- and di-phosphorylated forms are the only metabolites formed from adefovir. Incubation of 10 μM adefovir with hepatic cell lines and fresh monolayers of primary human hepatocytes from two donors and analysis of intracellular metabolites by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass sepctrometery resulted in adefovir-DP levels of approximately 10 pmol/million cells. Adefovir was more efficiently phosphorylated in primary hepatocytes than cell lines with adefovir-DP accounting for 44% versus 26% of total intracellular adefovir after 24 h. Egress studies showed adefovir-DP to have a half-life of 33 ± 3 h, 10 ± 1 h, 48 ± 3 h and 33 ± 2 h in Hep G2, Huh-7, and primary hepatocytes from two separate donors, respectively. The markedly shorter half-life in Huh-7 cells was inferred to be transport dependent based on its sensitivity to the transport inhibitor MK-571. Effective phosphorylation coupled with a long intracellular half-life and small competing dATP pool sizes in primary hepatocytes forms the cellular metabolic basis for the efficacy of adefovir dipivoxil in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B.

The cytotoxic effects of a traditional Zulu remedy, impila (Callilepis laureola).

The traditional Zulu remedy impila (Callilepis laureola) can cause acute fatal hepatocellular necrosis, especially in children. We investigated the mechanism(s) of toxicity using HuH-7 hepatocytes. Impila tubers were extracted with boiling water and the aqueous extract was used at different concentrations to study the effects on the morphology of the cells. Flow cytometry and labelling with fluorescent antibodies to tubulin were also used. At high concentrations, necrosis occurred; however, at lower concentrations, the extracts gave rise to a variety of changes including hypercondensation of chromatin, multinucleate cells, nuclear fragmentation and apoptosis. In addition, we observed destruction of cytoplasmic tubulin. These findings give further insight into the mechanism of toxicity of herbal remedies containing atractyloside.

C/EBPα Regulates Hepatic Transcription of Hepcidin, an Antimicrobial Peptide and Regulator of Iron Metabolism: CROSS-TALK BETWEEN C/EBP PATHWAY AND IRON METABOLISM

Originally identified as a gene up-regulated by iron overload in mouse liver, the HEPC gene encodes hepcidin, the first mammalian liver-specific antimicrobial peptide and potential key regulator of iron metabolism. Here we demonstrate that during rat liver development, amounts of HEPC transcripts were very low in fetal liver, strongly and transiently increased shortly after birth, and reappeared in adult liver. To gain insight into mechanisms that regulate hepatic expression of hepcidin, 5'-flanking regions of human and mouse HEPC genes were isolated and analyzed by functional and DNA binding assays. Human and mouse HEPC promoter-luciferase reporter vectors exhibited strong basal activity in hepatoma HuH-7 and mouse hepatocytes, respectively, but not in non-hepatic U-2OS cells. We found that CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein alpha (C/EBPalpha) and C/EBPbeta were respectively very potent and weak activators of both human and mouse promoters. In contrast, co-expression of hepatocyte nuclear factor 4alpha (HNF4alpha) failed to induce HEPC promoter activity. By electrophoretic mobility shift assay we demonstrated that one putative C/EBP element found in the human HEPC promoter (-250/-230) predominantly bound C/EBPalpha from rat liver nuclear extracts. Hepatic deletion of the C/EBPalpha gene resulted in reduced expression of HEPC transcripts in mouse liver. In contrast, amounts of HEPC transcripts increased in liver-specific HNF4alpha-null mice. Decrease of hepcidin mRNA in mice lacking hepatic C/EBPalpha was accompanied by iron accumulation in periportal hepatocytes. Finally, iron overload led to a significant increase of C/EBPalpha protein and HEPC transcripts in mouse liver. Taken together, these data demonstrate that C/EBPalpha is likely to be a key regulator of HEPC gene transcription and provide a novel mechanism for cross-talk between the C/EBP pathway and iron metabolism.