The effect of dietary lipids and antioxidants on the activity of epoxide hydratase in the rat liver and intestine

The effect of varying the fatty acid composition of the lipid components of the diet on the activity of epoxide hydratase in the rat liver and intestinal mucosa has been studied. Feeding a 10% cod liver oil diet (containing 18% C20:5 and 11% C22:6) resulted in a 3-fold increase in epoxide hydratase activity in the liver and a 1.6-fold increase in the intestine compared to rats fed a fat-free diet. The activity of epoxide hydratase in rats fed a cod liver oil diet was significantly greater than that for the group fed a lard diet (containing mainly saturated and mono-unsaturated fatty acids) containing the same quantity of vitamin E. Thus, the enhancing effect of the cod liver oil diet was due to the polyunsaturated fatty acids in this oil. Dietary corn oil (58% C18:2) also stimulated epoxide hydratase activity in the liver but not in the intestine. Vitamin E levels of up to 500 mg/kg diet were ineffective at inducing epoxide hydratase activity in both the liver and intestine. Significant changes in the fatty acid composition of hepatic and intestinal microsomes took place when rats were fed diets of different fatty acid composition. These changes were such that the proportions of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the microsomal fractions reflected the amounts of these fatty acids in the dietary fat. Hepatic epoxide hydratase activity was found to be positively correlated to the proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the microsomal fractions of the liver.     

Induction of rat hepatic UDP-glucuronosyltransferases by dietary ethoxyquin

Summary Dietary administration of 0.5% ethoxyquin markedly enhanced rat hepatic UDP-glucuronosyltransferase activities. Both 3-methylcholanthrene- and phenobarbital-inducible glucuronidation reactions were stimulated by the antioxidant. In contrast, phenobarbital-inducible bilirubin glucuronidation was not affected by ethoxyquin.     

Induction of rat hepatic microsomal epoxide hydrolase by substituted urea herbicides

Short-term effect of eight substituted phenylurea herbicides has been investigated on the induction of rat hepatic microsomal epoxide hydrolase activity using an HPLC method with unlabelled styrene oxide as substrate. Each compound increased epoxide hydrolase activity 1.5-4 times the controls.     

Effects of dietary R-goitrin on hepatic and intestinal glutathione S-transferase, microsomal epoxide hydratase and ethoxycoumarin O-deethylase activities in the rat

The influence of dietary R-goitrin on components of the xenobiotic-metabolizing system was examined in the liver and small intestine of male Sprague-Dawley rats. Given at a level of 200 ppm in the diet for 14 days, the R-goitrin caused a statistically significant (P less than 0.05) 21% increase in liver weight relative to body weight. A less pronounced, but statistically significant, 11% increase in relative liver weight resulted from the administration of R-goitrin at 40 ppm in the diet. Hepatic glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity was significantly increased 1.5- and 2-fold over the basal level at concentrations of 40 and 200 ppm R-goitrin, respectively. Hepatic microsomal epoxide hydratase (EH) activity was also significantly increased. Hepatic EH activity was 1.6- and 3.3-fold greater in the 40- and 200-ppm R-goitrin groups, respectively, than in the control group given the basal diet. R-Goitrin at 200 ppm in the diet produced significant 1.2- and 1.4-fold increases of GST and microsomal EH activities, respectively, in the mucosa of the small intestine. The administration of R-goitrin at 40 or 200 ppm in the diet had no significant effect on either hepatic or intestinal ethoxycoumarin O-deethylase activity.     

Regulation of rat liver epoxide hydratase activity by phenobarbital and 3-methylcholanthrene.

Phenobarbital-pretreatment of rats increased liver microsomal epoxide hydratase activity 2.6-fold over controls even after elimination of inherent latency problems. However. 3-methylcholanthrene pretreatment of rats does not alter the levels of hepatic epoxide hydratase activity. Epoxide hydratase was purified from control rats or rats pretreated with phenobarbital or 3-methylcholanthrene. The enzymes isolated from all three sources appear to be very similar in size, immunological activity and specific activity. These experiments strongly suggest that phenobarbital stimulates epoxide hydratase activity by selectively increasing microsomal content of a single form of the enzyme. The possible existence of multiple forms of epoxide hydratase is discussed.     

Induction of rat hepatic and intestinal glutathione S-transferases by dietary butylated hydroxyanisole.

To obtain insight into the protection mechanism of butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), a widely used food preservative with anticarcinogenic properties, we investigated the effects of dietary BHA on rat hepatic and intestinal glutathione S-transferase (GST) enzyme activity, and GST isozyme levels. In the proximal small intestine and liver, BHA supplementation significantly increased GST enzyme activity as compared with controls (2.3- and 1.7-fold, respectively, P less than 0.05). GST class alpha and mu contents were significantly higher only in the small intestine (1.6-2.1-fold and 1.3-1.5-fold, respectively, P less than 0.05), whereas GST class pi was significantly induced in liver (4.6-fold, P less than 0.05).     

The apparent ubiquity of epoxide hydratase in rat organs

Using the recently developed sensitive assay with [³H] benzo [a] pyrene 4,5-oxide as substrate, epoxide hydratase was shown to be present in 26 rat (Sprague-Dawley) organs and tissues investigated. Only blood showed no detectable activity, which indicates that the low enzyme activity found in some organs is not due to the presence of blood components in the tissues. In earlier studies with a less sensitive assay, epoxide hydratase activity was detected only in rat liver and kidney but not in organs such as muscle, spleen, heart and brain. Epoxide hydratase was also measured in 6 organs of the mouse (NMRI). The distribution pattern was quantitatively quite different in the two species. The sp. act. in the rat were in the order liver > testis > kidney > lung > intestine ～- skin. In the mouse, very surprisingly, testis had the highest specific epoxide hydratase activity. Moreover, the order of sp. act. in the mouse organs was remarkably different from that in the rat, namely testis > liver > lung > skin > kidney > intestine. The fact that the sp. act. in kidney was much lower than in lung or skin is most striking. Pretreatment of rats with Aroclor 1254 (a mixture of polychlorinated biphenyls) increased the epoxide hydratase activity in the liver to 175 per cent of the control level. However, the enzyme activity in the 13 extrahepatic tissues investigated was not significantly changed. In organs possessing sufficiently high enzyme levels, epoxide hydratase activity was also measured with styrene oxide as substrate. The ratio of the sp. act. of the two substrates was very similar in rat liver, kidney, lung and lestis. This supports the assumption that in these organs a single enzyme is responsible for the hydration of both substrates—as was earlier shown by several methods for the rat liver.     

Induction of microsomal epoxide hydrolase by tienilic acid in the rat

The effects of tienilic acid [2,3-dichloro-4-(2-thienylcarbonyl)phenoxy acetic acid] on drug-metabolizing enzymes in the rat liver and kidneys were studied. Short-term treatment for 2 weeks (450 mg per kg per day) increased the activity of microsomal epoxide hydrolase at least two-fold in both rat liver and kidneys. The effect of tienilic acid on the activity of microsomal epoxide hydrolase in the rat liver correlated with the dose at levels of 20-450 mg per kg per day for 14 days (r = 0.92). Tienilic acid had only marginal effects on cytochrome-P-450-mediated mono-oxygenases. Tienilic acid caused an approximately two-fold increase in glucuronide conjugation of 4-methylumbelliferone in the liver. No increase in the activity of rat hepatic microsomal UDP-glucuronosyltransferase toward O-aminophenol was detected. According to these results, tienilic acid can be regarded as one of the most specific inducers of microsomal epoxide hydrolase.     

Induction of microsomal epoxide hydrolase by nitrosamines in rat liver. Effect on messenger ribonucleic acids

Nitrosomethylethylamine and nitrosomethylpropylamine were found to be more potent inducers of rat liver microsomal epoxide hydrolase (styrene oxide hydrolase) than nitrosodiethylamine or nitrosodimethylamine. The time course of induction following a single administration of nitrosodimethylethylamine, nitrosomethylpropylamine or nitrosodiethylamine each showed a delay of 24 hr during which enzyme activity was unaltered. After that time activity increased and reached a maximum at between 72 and 120 hr. Increased enzyme activity following NDEA was paralleled by changes in the content of epoxide hydrolase in microsomes as measured by Western blots. Nitrosamines caused an increase of mRNA for epoxide hydrolase which was detected by probing Northern blots with a [32]-P labelled epoxide hydrolase cDNA and by in vitro translation of polyadenylated mRNA. Both methods showed a maximal increase at 72 hr after nitrosodiethylamine treatment but a significant increase was also observed at 24 hr although at this time no increase in enzyme activity was apparent.     

Specificity of human, rat and mouse skin epoxide hydratase towards K-region epoxides of polycyclic hydrocarbons

Epoxide hydratase activity has been measured in microsomal fractions of skin from mouse, rat and humans. The skin enzyme was able to hydrate all epoxides tested. The specific enzyme activities decreased in the order human > mouse > rat. The relative activity towards K-region epoxides of various polycyclic hydrocarbons in skin microsomal fractions from all three species decreased in the order phenanthrene 9,10-oxide > benz(a)anthracene 5,6-oxide ? benzo(a)pyrene 4,5-oxide ? 7-methylbenz(a)anthracene 5,6-oxide > 3-methylcholanthrene 11,12-oxide > dibenz(a,h)anthracene 5,6-oxide. The activity of epoxide hydratase in human skin microsomal fractions showed little pH dependence and was inhibited by small molecular weight inhibitors in a manner similar to that of the liver microsomal enzyme. Interindividual variation of epoxide hydratase activity in skin microsomal fractions from six human subjects was considerable, namely from 175 to 447 pmoles benzo(a)pyrene 4,5-dihydrodiol/min per mg protein. This variation was not due to skin disease or treatment and had no apparent correlation with age or sex. A possible correlation with the part of the body from which the skin sample was taken could not be excluded since the activity in skin samples from the abdomen seemed lower than that in samples from leg or breast.     

Induction of rat hepatic monooxygenase activity by polychlorinated diphenyl ethers

Polychlorinated diphenyl ethers are recognized environmental contaminants. Twelve of these compounds were tested for their ability to induce liver cytochrome P-450 and monooxygenase activities in Sprague-Dawley rats. All the compounds increased P-450 levels or increased monooxygenase activities in a manner resembling 3-methylcholanthrene, phenobarbital or a combination of both (mixed). The responses obtained resembled those of the polychlorinated biphenyls, some of which are known to be toxic.     

Induction of the rat hepatic microsomal mixed-function oxidases by cimetidine

The ability of cimetidine to induce the hepatic microsomal mixed-function oxidases was investigated in rats treated orally with the drug at 3 dose levels: 10, 100 and 500 mg/kg. At the highest dose only, cimetidine stimulated the dealkylations of ethoxyresorufin, ethoxycoumarin and pentoxyresorufin but inhibited that of erythromycin and had no effect on the demethylation of dimethylnitrosamine. At the highest dose cimetidine had a small effect on the activation of Glu-P-1 to mutagens in the Ames test but induced proteins recognised in Western blots by antibodies to P450 I A1 and P450 II B1. It is concluded that cimetidine is a weak selective inducer of cytochrome P-450 forms, but at therapeutic doses its inductive effect is most unlikely to be of any clinical or toxicological consequence.     

Enhanced expression of rat hepatic microsomal epoxide hydrolase by methylthiazole in conjunction with liver injury

Microsomal epoxide hydrolase (mEH) is inducible by a number of xenobiotics. Induction of mEH by certain chemopreventive agents may implicate the protective effect. In contrast, many of carcinogenic agents also induce the enzyme. The hepatotoxicity and mEH expression by methylthiazoles, which are incorporated as functional groups in a number of therapeutic agents, were assessed in the rat liver to study the structural basis for the enzyme induction and the correlative enzyme expression with hepatotoxicity. Among the methylthiazoles examined, 4-methylthiazole (MT) at the daily dose of 1.17 mmol/kg body weight caused hepatic necrosis and degeneration after 1-3 consecutive daily treatment(s), whereas 4, 5-dimethylthiazole (DT) and 2,4,5-trimethylthiazole (TT) elicited no toxicity. Treatment of rats with MT at the daily dose of 1.17 mmol/kg increased the mEH mRNA by 17- and 7-fold at day 1 and day 3, respectively, relative to control. Whereas DT caused 5- and 2-fold increases in mEH mRNA at day 1 and day 3, respectively, TT minimally affected mEH expression. The mRNA increase was consistent with the protein induction. Hence, the methylthiazole causing hepatotoxicity was more active in inducing the enzyme. Whereas treatment with MT at the dose of 0.35 mmol/kg caused no hepatotoxicity, MT caused hepatic necrosis in starving rats. Northern blot analysis showed that the mEH mRNA level was increased to a greater extent by MT in starving rats than in control animals. Conversely, treatment of starving rats with either cysteine or methionine prior to MT prevented the hepatic necrosis. Elevation of the mEH mRNA by MT in starving animals was also inhibited by either cysteine or methionine pretreatment. These results demonstrated that the methylthiazole which caused hepatotoxicity also up-regulated mEH expression, whereas other methylthiazoles showing no toxicity minimally increased the gene expression. The observation that the extent of mEH expression by MT was highly associated with that of liver injury raised the notion that mEH expression by xenobiotics may not necessarily represent the beneficial and protective effects.     

Induction of preneoplastic altered hepatic foci following dietary sulphur supplementation

Sulphur is an essential micronutrient required by the body in low concentrations, but its high intake can lead to a serious health hazard. Sulphur compounds are reported to induce several toxic responses in animals, but so far no reports are available on the toxic effects of elemental sulphur, following dietary supplementation. The present investigation was carried out with the aim of providing an insight into the role of dietary supplementation of sulphur on the induction of altered hepatic foci (AHF) using medium term liver bioassay in Wistar rats. Induction of AHF are early neoplastic changes in rat liver in diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-initiated and 2-acetylaminofluorene (2-AAF)-promoted hepatocarcinogenesis. The role of sulphur on induction of AHF was evaluated by the development of negative enzymatic foci for alkaline phosphatase (AlkPase), adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase), glucose-6-phosphatase (G-6-Pase) and positive foci for marker enzymes, gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), placental isozyme of glutathione-S-transferase (GST-P). A significant dose-dependent decrease in the relative and absolute liver weight of sulphur-administered rats was recorded. Dietary supplementation of 2% and 4% sulphur significantly induces both negative and positive focal areas in terms of area and counts for AHF. However, 1% sulphur administration failed to induce AHF up to significant levels. The results thus revealed the possible tumorigenic risk associated with the high sulphur-containing diet.     

Induction of rat hepatic drug metabolizing enzymes by substituted urea herbicides

Effects of eight structurally closely related substituted urea herbicides were investigated on the induction of cytochrome P-450 dependent monooxygenase enzyme complex, as well as on two conjugating enzymes after short-term treatment of rats. Liver microsomal cytochrome P-450 content was induced approximately by 50%. Cytochrome P-450 dependent monooxygenase activities showed a great variety depending on the substrate and on the herbicide. Two-18-fold induction was detected with 7-ethoxycoumarin, while up to 8-fold induction was measured with benzo(a)pyrene. Aldrin epoxidase activities were increased up to 3-fold, and aminopyrine N-demethylase activities were only slightly different from the control level. UDP-glucuronyltransferase and glutathione S-transferase activities were enhanced up to 2-fold. The results indicate that chemical structure of the related substituted urea compounds, the number of halogen substituents on their phenyl group exert a strong influence on the induction of monooxygenases.     

Induction of rat hepatic long-chain acyl-CoA hydrolases by various peroxisome proliferators

Induction of cytosolic long-chain acyl-CoA hydrolases was investigated in rat liver after administration of various peroxisome proliferators and related compounds. Treatment of rats with di-(2-ethylhexyl)-phthalate, di-(2-ethylhexyl)-adipate or tiadenol induced hydrolases I and II, while acetylsalicylic acid induced only hydrolase II. Among the various phenoxyacetic acid derivatives and related compounds, 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid, 2-(4-chlorophenoxy)-2-methylacetic acid, 2-(2-chlorophenoxy)-2-methylpropionic acid and clofibric acid induced both hydrolases I and II, whereas 2, 4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid induced only hydrolase II. All nine of the above-mentioned inducers also markedly increased the activity of peroxisomal beta-oxidation. Other compounds tested (2-chlorophenoxyacetic acid, 4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid, 4-chlorophenol, phenoxyacetic acid and phenoxy-2-methylacetic acid) were ineffective as inducers. These results suggest that inducers of acyl-CoA hydrolase II also enhance peroxisomal beta-oxidation activity, but do not necessarily induce acyl-CoA hydrolase I. The structure-inducing activity relationships of these compounds are discussed.