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Cell Biology |



* Service de néphrologie et Centre de Recherche Guy-Bernier, Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont, and
Département de Pharmacologie, Faculté de médecine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
Address correspondence to: Dr. Vincent Pichette, Centre de Recherche Guy-Bernier, Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont, 5415 boulevard de lAssomption, Montréal, Québec, Canada, H1T 2M4. Phone: 514-252-3489; Fax: 514-255-3026; E-mail: vpichette.hmr{at}ssss.gouv.qc.ca
Received for publication January 13, 2006. Accepted for publication August 21, 2006.
| Abstract |
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| Introduction |
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Cytochrome P450 (P450) is the major catalyst of drug biotransformation. Several animal studies have shown that liver and intestinal P450 are reduced in CRF (710). These studies demonstrated that CRF is associated with a decrease in the activity as well as in the expression of liver and intestinal P450 isoforms secondary to reduced mRNA levels (9,10). The main hypothesis to explain P450 activity and expression downregulation is the presence in the blood of uremic animals of endogenous inhibitors that modulate the P450. Indeed, we have shown that in normal hepatocytes that were incubated for 24 h with serum from rats with CRF, total P450 level and protein expression of several P450 isoforms decreased by 45% compared with serum from control animals (11). This decrease in protein expression of P450 isoforms was secondary to reduced gene expression (11). Similar results have been shown with serum of patients with severe CRF (12). The next step was to find which factor in the uremic blood downregulates P450 in CRF.
CRF is associated with multiple metabolic disturbances. As a consequence, numerous molecules are increased in CRF. However, taking into account the changes that are induced by CRF (metabolic, hormonal, and retention of toxins) and the factors that are known to affect the P450, two main mediators are most likely to be associated with downregulation of P450 in CRF: parathyroid hormone (PTH) and proinflammatory cytokines (6). Although the potency of cytokines to downregulate P450 have been established in inflammatory disease (13), we hypothesized that PTH could be implicated in the downregulation of P450 in CRF for the following reasons: (1) secondary hyperparathyroidism is frequent in CRF (14); (2) PTH is known to downregulate the mRNA of many proteins, particularly in the liver but also in other tissue such as the heart (1517); and (3) we have found a strong correlation between the levels of PTH and P450 reduction induced by serum of patients (12).
The objectives of this study were to determine (1) the role of PTH in the in vitro downregulation of liver P450 that is induced by rat uremic serum, (2) the role of PTH in the in vivo downregulation of liver P450 in CRF rats, and (3) the in vitro effects of PTH on P450 in cultured hepatocytes. For this purpose, (1) we incubated normal rat hepatocytes with CRF rat serum that was preadsorbed on immobilized anti-PTH antibodies or with serum from CRF parathyroidectomized (CRF-PTX) rat, (2) we evaluated the effect of PTX on liver P450 activity and expression in rats with CRF, and (3) we determined the effects of PTH on P450 in cultured hepatocytes.
| Materials and Methods |
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As shown in Table 1, rats were divided in four groups. Hepatocytes were isolated from normal rats (n = 35), and the sera that were used for incubation experiments were obtained from CRF, CRF-PTX, control, or control-PTX rats at the time of sacrifice.
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Total parathyroidectomy (PTX) was performed as described previously (16). Briefly, surgical PTX was carried out under a surgical microscope, without removal of the thyroid tissue. The success of the PTX was ascertained by a significant decrease of calcium after PTX. To avoid hypocalcemia, PTX rats then were supplemented in calcium by addition of calcium gluconate to drinking water (control 5%; CRF 2.5%). Rats then were allowed to recover for 1 wk before the five-sixths nephrectomy. Control rats received sham surgery in the neck region.
Immunoadsorption of PTH in Uremic Serum
To deplete PTH in the sera of rats with CRF, we used polystyrene beads (8.4 mm) coated with goat antibodies that were specific to the N-terminal (1-34) region of rat PTH (Alpco Diagnostics, Windham, NH). Each of these beads can bind at least 400 pg of PTH. Rat sera were incubated at 4°C for 16 h with beads (7 beads/ml serum). After depletion, treated sera were added to culture medium (10%) and filtered on 0.22-µm filter. Samples of depleted sera were reserved for quantification of PTH after depletion. Nondepleted control and CRF sera were incubated concomitantly at 4°C and treated in the same way.
Hepatocyte Isolation and Culture
Hepatocytes were isolated from normal rats according to the two-step liver perfusion method of Seglen as previously published (11). Collagenase type 4 (Worthington, Lakewood, NJ) was used.
After preincubation, the medium was changed for 2 ml of William E medium that contained 10% of serum from rats with CRF, CRF-PTX, or control rats. The serum of one rat was used for one experiment. Thereafter, the hepatocytes were incubated for another 24 h. Hepatocytes then were harvested by scraping in PBS. For mRNA analysis, cells were harvested in RLT buffer (Qiagen, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada). Samples were stored at 80°C until analysis.
For assessment of whether liver P450 could be downregulated by PTH, a dosage-response curve was obtained by measurement of the ability of a wide-range PTH (rat synthetic 1-34 PTH; Sigma, St. Louis, MO) concentrations (1012 to 107 M) to depress the P450 of normal hepatocytes. Incubation time was 24 h. PTH was dissolved in 0.15 N acetic acid. Hepatocytes then were harvested as described in the previous paragraph and stored at 80°C until analysis.
Effect of Inhibition of the NF-
B Pathway on PTH-Induced Downregulation of Liver CYP3A2
For assessment of whether the blockade of the NF-
B pathway could prevent the effect of PTH on liver P450, two inhibitors of NF-
B were used: pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) (19) and Andrographolide (20) (Calbiochem, San Diego, CA). Normal hepatocytes were incubated for 24 h in the presence of either PDTC (50 µM) or Andrographolide (30 µM) or in absence of these inhibitors with and without PTH (109 M).
Microsome Preparation from Hepatocytes and Liver
Hepatocyte microsomes were isolated by differential centrifugation (21). The pellet that contained the microsomes was resuspended in 0.9% NaCl and stored at 80°C until analysis. Liver microsomes were isolated by differential centrifugation according to Cinti et al. (22). The pellet that contained the microsomes was stored at 80°C in 0.1 M Tris (pH 7.4), 20% glycerol, and 10 mM EDTA until analysis.
Western Blot Analysis
Although several cytochrome P450 isoforms are implicated in the metabolism of drugs, we assessed only CYP1A1, CYP2C11, CYP2E1, and CYP3A2, which are the more abundant isoforms in the rat liver and are most affected by CRF as previously reported (9). These isoforms were assessed by Western blotting as described elsewhere (9). P450 were detected using polyclonal goat anti-rat 1A1, 2C11, 2E1, and 3A2 (Gentest Corp., Woburn, MA), respectively.
-Actin was detected using a mouse anti-chicken
-actin (Neo-Markers, Fremont, CA). Immune complexes were revealed by secondary antibodies (swine anti-goat IgG coupled to peroxidase [Biosource International, Camarillo, CA] or goat anti-mouse IgG coupled to peroxidase [Sigma]) and the Luminol derivative of Lumi-Light Western blotting substrate (Roche Diagnostics, Laval, Quebec, Canada). Immune reaction intensity was determined by computer-assisted densitometry on Fuji (Stamford, CT) LAS-3000 LCD camera coupled to the analysis program MultiGauge (Fuji).
RNA Isolation and Real-Time Quantitative PCR Analysis
RNA extractions were done on either the liver or the hepatocytes with the RNeasy Midi and Mini Kit (Qiagen), respectively. One microgram of total RNA was used to prepare cDNA by reverse transcription using Omniscript RT kit (Qiagen) and random primer (Invitrogen, Burlington, Ontario, Canada). Quantitative PCR analysis was performed using Platinum SYBR green qPCR (Invitrogen) on the iCycler real-time detection system (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada). Specific primer sets were designed for each of the two tested mRNA (3A2 and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase) on the basis of published cDNA sequences with the aid of the Jellyfish computer program (LabVelocity Inc., Los Angeles, CA) and are reported in Table 2. All primers were obtained from Sigma, and their specificity was confirmed by sequencing of the resulting PCR product on ABI Prism 3100 analyzer (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA). Used PCR conditions were optimized to 95°C for 15 s, 59°C for 30 s, and 72°C for 60 s. The respective PCR products were cloned in the pCr 2.1 vector using TA cloning Kit (Invitrogen). The resulting plasmids were purified with Hispeed Plasmid Midi Kit (Qiagen), quantified at 260 nm and diluted to make a standard curve.
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Blood and Urine Chemistries
Blood (urea, creatinine, calcium, and phosphate) and urine (creatinine) chemistries were determined with a Hitachi 717 autoanalyzer (Roche). PTH was measured by using the Rat intact PTH ELISA Kit (Alpco Diagnostics), which measure the intact 1-84 PTH. The lowest detectable level is 15 pg/ml.
Statistical Analyses
The results are expressed as mean ± SEM. Differences between groups were assessed by using an unpaired t test or an ANOVA test. Significant ANOVA was followed by a post hoc Scheffe analysis (Dunnett for Figure 4). The threshold of significance was P < 0.05.
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| Results |
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Role of PTH in the Downregulation of Liver P450 Induced by Uremic Serum
Two sets of experiments were conducted. We first neutralized PTH in uremic serum. As shown in Figure 1, we confirmed our previous results as CRF serum induced a 34 and 43% decrease in CYP3A protein expression and mRNA levels, respectively. CRF serum that was depleted of PTH lost its inhibitory capacity on CYP3A expression and activity (Figure 1). PTH concentrations in CRF serum were reduced by 85 to 99% by depletion with immobilized anti-PTH. Addition of PTH (at a concentration similar to CRF serum, which is 109 M) into depleted CRF serum induced a similar decrease in CYP3A levels as nondepleted CRF serum, confirming that the depletion procedure was specific for PTH (Figure 1). Similar results were obtained for CYP3A activity that was evaluated by the DFB assay. We also evaluated another major isoform in the rat (CYP2C11), and as shown for CYP3A, the depletion in PTH of CRF serum reverses the downregulation of CYP2C11 that is induced by uremic serum (data not shown).
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Dosage-Response Curve of PTH on Liver CYP3A in Cultured Hepatocytes.
Figure 4 depicts the effects of various concentrations of PTH (1012 to 107 M) on the protein expression as well as on the mRNA levels of CYP3A2 of hepatocytes. As the concentration of PTH increased, there was a dosage-dependant decrease in CYP3A2 levels at both the protein and the mRNA level that tended to plateau at 108 M. It is interesting that the in vivo concentrations that were obtained in our rats with CRF were between 1010 and 109 M (see Table 1). There was no effect of PTH on other control hepatocyte proteins (glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, aspartate aminotransferase, or
-actin; data not shown).
Effects of PTH on CYP3A Activity in Cultured Hepatocytes.
The effects of PTH (at a concentration of 109 M) on the CYP3A activity are shown on Figure 5. When hepatocytes were incubated with PTH, the activity of CYP3A was decreased by approximately 40%, which is a decrease similar to that obtained with uremic serum or in rats with CRF (Figures 1 and 2).
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B Inhibitors on PTH-Induced Decrease of P450.
B pathway (19,20). Figure 7 shows that the decrease in CYP3A protein expression, mRNA, and activity by PTH (109 M) was prevented by the addition of PDTC and Andrographolide to hepatocytes culture media.
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| Discussion |
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Renal failure generally has been thought to decrease only the renal clearance of drugs (24). However, several studies have demonstrated that CRF also decreases hepatic drug metabolism secondary to a decrease in liver P450 (9). The main reason for decreased P450 activity and expression in the liver seems to be the presence of uremic factors that accumulate in CRF (11). Indeed, we have shown that in normal hepatocytes that were incubated for 24 h with serum from rats or patients with CRF, total P450 level and protein expressions of several P450 isoforms decreased by 45% compared with serum from control animals (11,12). This decrease in protein expression of P450 isoforms was secondary to reduced gene expression (11,12).
In this study, we hypothesized that PTH could be a major factor in the downregulation of liver P450 that is induced by CRF, and our results confirm this hypothesis. Indeed, incubation of normal rat hepatocytes with CRF rat serum that was preadsorbed on immobilized anti-PTH completely reversed the inhibitory effect of uremic serum on cytochrome P450 (Figure 1). Similar results were obtained when we incubated serum from CRF-PTX rats (Figure 2). Furthermore, our results showed that PTH could downregulate liver P450 isoforms. Incubation of hepatocytes from normal rats with rat PTH (1-34) resulted in a dosage-dependent reduction in the protein expression as well as in mRNA of CYP3A2 and 2C11 (Figures 5 and 6). At concentrations that are found in CRF (1010 to 109 M), there was a reduction of >40% in the P450, similar to what we found with CRF serum.
CRF is associated with an increase in PTH (secondary or tertiary hyperparathyroidism), which causes several uremic complications (2529). More specific, PTH downregulates the mRNA of many proteins, such as hepatic lipase, as well as the receptors for vasopressin, angiotensin II in hepatocytes, and IGF-1 in cardiomyocytes (1517). Recently, CRF-induced resistance to IGF-1 was attenuated by PTX, suggesting a role of PTH in this resistance (17). The mechanisms underlying these effects of PTH seem to be related to an increase of cAMP and/or an increase in intracellular calcium (26).
The effects of PTH on the isoforms of P450 that are implicated in the metabolism of drugs, as found in this study, also could be secondary to activation of cAMP and increase in [Ca2+]i. PTH signaling pathway includes the generation of cAMP with activation of protein kinase A and subsequent phosphorylation of proteins (30). In hepatocytes, PTH increases cAMP production (31), which could cause a phosphorylation of P450 by a cAMP-dependent protein kinase, leading to a decrease in the activity of selected isoenzymes of the P450 (32,33) or a downregulation of the expression of genes (CYP1A1, 2B1, 2B6, and 3A1) (34,35). However, some data also suggest that PTH may activate protein kinase C (30), and that also could lead to P450 inhibition (36). However, the role of [Ca2+]i in the regulation of P450 remains poorly defined (35,37,38).
Aside from these well-characterized PTH-signaling pathways, recent data suggest a third hypothesis through which PTH could inhibit P450. This is via activation of the NF-
B. NF-
B is a pleiotropic transcription factor that plays an important role in the regulation of physiologic processes, including immune responses, inflammatory reactions, cell proliferation, apoptosis, and developmental processes (39). Several studies have shown that NF-
B plays an important role in mediating the suppression of P450 expression by inflammatory agents, such as inflammatory cytokines and LPS (40,41). Moreover, it has been reported that PTH and PTH-rP cause dosage- and time-related increases in NF-
B in human and rat osteoblastic cells (42,43). Our results support the hypothesis that PTH may act via NF-
B to downregulate P450. Indeed, we have shown that the inhibition of the NF-
B pathway prevents the decrease in CYP3A2 expression and activity (Figure 7). Further studies are ongoing to identify the precise mechanism of PTH-induced P450 downregulation.
In this study, we also evaluated whether PTX could prevent the downregulation of liver P450 that is induced in vivo by CRF. As shown in Figure 3, P450 decreased by 72% in liver of rats with CRF but only by 28% in liver of CRF-PTX rats. This reduction, although less important, still was significant compared with control rats. These results also suggest that PTH is a major factor not only in vitro but also in vivo but that in vivo, other factors could be implicated in the downregulation of liver P450. One of these factors could be cytokines. Indeed, several studies have demonstrated that CRF is associated with a chronic activation of inflammatory response (44,45). Patients with CRF show an increase in plasma levels of many cytokines, such as IL-1, monocyte chemotactic and activating factor, IL-6, granulocyte inhibitory protein, and TGF (4650). However, cytokines are able to downregulate hepatic P450 in vitro and in vivo (13). These observations support the hypothesis that, besides PTH, cytokines could downregulate the liver P450 in rats with CRF.
| Conclusion |
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| Acknowledgments |
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Part of this work was presented at the 14th International Conference on Cytochromes P450; May 31 to June 5, 2005; Dallas, TX.
| Footnotes |
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| References |
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