No abstract

Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), a natural component of propolis, shows anticarcinogenic properties in the modified resistant hepatocyte model when administered before initiation or promotion of hepatocarcinogenesis process; however, information about the mechanism underlying this chemoprotection is limited. The aim of this work was to characterize the effect of CAPE on cytochrome P450 (CYP), which is involved in diethylnitrosamine (DEN) metabolism during the initiation stage of chemical hepatocarcinogenesis. Male Fischer-344 rats were treated as in the modified resistant hepatocyte model. Liver samples were obtained at four different times: at 12 h after pretreatment with CAPE and at 12 and 24 h and 25 days after DEN administration. Liver damage was determined by histology with hematoxylin and eosin, measurement of total CYP levels and enzyme activity, and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase-positive (GGT+) staining of hepatocyte foci. CAPE administration prevented DEN-induced necrosis at 24 h. It also decreased O-dealkylation of 7-ethoxy-resorufin (EROD), O-dealkylation of 7-methoxyresorufin (MROD), and 7-pentoxy-resorufin activities at 12 h after its administration and EROD and MROD activities at 12 h after administration of DEN. CAPE treatment decreased GGT+ foci by 59% on day 25. Our results suggest that CAPE modifies the enzymatic activity of CYP isoforms involved in the activation of DEN, such as CYP1A1/2 and CYP2B1/2. These findings describe an alternative mechanism for understanding the ability of CAPE to protect against chemical hepatocarcinogenesis.

We present a study of the chemoprotective effects of two caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE)-related structures: LQM717 and LQM706. The modified resistant hepatocyte model in rats was used to study the chemoprevention of these CAPE analogues, which are inexpensive and easily obtained. In the liver cancer model used, we detected extensive necrosis and lipid peroxidation after 24 h, many altered hepatic foci, putatively preneoplastic lesions with γ-glutamyl transpeptidase staining after 30 days, and liver tumors at 12 months. We tested the effect of the CAPE analogues on necrosis, lipid peroxidation, proliferation, p65 activation, altered hepatic foci, and tumors. Both compounds exerted protective effects on lipid peroxidation, necrosis, cell proliferation, p65 activation, and preneoplastic lesions. Rats under a carcinogenic protocol showed a 52, 71.74, and 51.6% decrease in the number of preneoplastic nodules when pretreated with CAPE, LQM706, and LQM717, respectively. At 12 months after carcinogenic treatment, eight of eight rats developed liver cancer, whereas in the group of rats that received pretreatment with CAPE, LQM706, or LQM717, 62.5, 83.3, or 42.85%, respectively, had tumors. In conclusion, LQM717 has the potential to enhance chemoprotection activity much better than CAPE by markedly reducing the formation of liver cancers in this model, and this is a compound that is easy to obtain.

Calendula officinalis extracts have protective and cytotoxic effects. We previously reported the dual activity of C. officinalis in primary rat hepatocyte cultures treated with N-nitrosodiethylamine. At nM concentrations it was anti-genotoxic while at microM concentrations it exhibited genotoxic effects. Here we tested the activity of Calendula officinalis in vivo in male Fischer 344 rats initiated with N-nitrosodiethylamine, promoted with 2-acetylaminofluorene, and 70 % partially hepatectomized. Liver gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase positively altered hepatocyte foci 25 days after initiation were our end point. The protective effect of C. officinalis started at 0.1 mg/kg concentration, increased at 0.5 mg/kg and reached its maximum at 2.5 mg/kg, when it decreased the area and number of altered foci by 55 % and 49 %, respectively, in comparison with rats treated only with carcinogen. At 5 mg/kg the number and area of altered hepatocyte foci were still lower, but almost reached the figures of carcinogen-treated rats. Ten and 20 mg/kg doses produced a notorious increment in the area and number of altered hepatic foci, and at 40 mg/kg of extract the increment was 40 % and 53 %, respectively. Additionally, when 2-acetylaminofluorene was substituted by a 40 mg/kg C. officinalis extract, a promoting effect was observed with increments of 175 % and 266 % in area and number of altered hepatocyte foci with respect to controls. When N-nitrosodiethylamine was substituted by 40 mg/kg of extract, the latter did not show initiator activity. In summary, we showed a protecting activity of C. officinalis at low doses, but doses above 10 mg/kg increased altered hepatocyte foci. This dual effect is an example of the phenomenon of hormesis. Furthermore, 40 mg/kg of dry weight extract administered instead of 2-acetylaminofluorene induced a clear promoting activity. These in vivo results are similar and consistent with those reported by us in primary rat liver cell cultures.

No abstract

Establishing a transcriptomic profile of human hepatocellular liver cancer (HCC) progression is a complex undertaking. A rat model of HCC was employed to develop a transcriptomic profile. Using three interventions, preneoplastic lesions appeared after 30 days and they progressed to HCC by 9 months. Preneoplastic and cancer lesions were characterized for transcriptomic analysis, and RNA from total liver homogenates was obtained at 1, 7, 11 and 16 days after the initiation treatment. RNA from dissected persistent preneoplastic lesions, adjacent tissue or cancer tissue was used for 30 days, and 5, 9, 12 and 18 months. The GeneChip Rat Exon 1.0 ST arrays, Partek software and an Affymetrix console were employed for these analyses. was differentially expressed at each time point, from the initial period, through the preneoplastic evolution period and until the end of cancer progression period. Twelve differentially expressed genes common to the preneoplastic evolution and to the cancer progression period were detected, which included. Validation of the microarrays was confirmed by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction of six genes, including and. Of note, the proteins of these two genes are associated with the multidrug response complex, and evasion of immune surveillance and negative regulation of T cell proliferation. This model is useful for identifying candidate genes, and to validate them with regards to determining their relevance in rat HCC progression.

AIM:To study the effect of celecoxib (CXB) on diethylnitrosamine activation through the regulation of cytochrome P450 in a hepatocarcinogenesis model. METHODS:Six-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups, a nontreated group (NT), a diethylnitrosamine-treated group (DEN), a DEN+CXB-treated group (DEN+CXB), and CXB 8 d-treated and CXB 32 d-treated groups. The effects of celecoxib on the enzymatic activities of CYP1A1, 2A, 2B1/2, and 2E1 were assessed in hepatic microsomes 24 h after DEN administration. Changes in CYP1A1 and CYP2B1/2 protein expression were also evaluated. The rate of DEN metabolism was measured by the production of the deethylation metabolite acetaldehyde, and the denitrosation metabolite nitrite.RESULTS: DEN+CXB administration produced a significant increase in the enzymatic activities of CYP2B1/2 and 1A1, whereas it did not change the activities of CYP2A and 2E1, compared to that of the DEN group. CXB treatment for eight days did not produce a significant effect on enzymatic activity when compared to the NT group; however, when it was administered for prolonged times (CXB 32 d group), the enzymatic activities were increased in a similar pattern to those in the DEN+CXB group. The observed increase in the enzymatic activities in the DEN+CXB group was accompanied by an increase in the CYP2B1/2 protein levels; no changes were observed in the levels of CYP1A1. In vitro , CXB increased the denitrosation of DEN, a pathway of metabolic detoxification. The addition of SKF-525A, a preferential inhibitor of CYP2B, abrogated the denitrosation of DEN. CONCLUSION:These results suggest that the mechanism of action of CXB involves enhancement of the detoxification of DEN by an increasing denitrosation via CYP2B1/2.

We have previously evaluated the chemopreventive effect of celecoxib on preneoplastic lesions in rat liver. However, though the effects of celecoxib have been tested in a variety of carcinomas, there has not been a study on the modulation of gene expression in response to this drug. Here, we evaluated the effect of celecoxib on the gene expression profile associated with hepatocarcinogenesis. Male Sprague-Dawley rats underwent the modified resistant hepatocyte model and were fed a diet containing 1500 ppm of celecoxib. Gene expression profiles were evaluated using DNA microarrays and further validations were performed using quantitative PCR, western blotting and immunohistochemical staining. Celecoxib modulated the expression of 46 genes, and those regulated by growth hormone were selected for further analysis. Celecoxib significantly upregulated the expression of the Cyp2b1/2, Cyp3a1, and alpha2-urinary globulin (alpha2uG) genes and restored the expression of Cyp2b3 to normal. The protein expression of Cyp2b1/2 was increased, but the expressions of Cyp3a1 and alpha2uG were only restored to normal levels. The increased Cyp2b1/2 expression in response to celecoxib was mainly confined to preneoplastic lesions. A search for the upstream mediator of these genetic alterations found that carcinogenesis inactivated by 87% the signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 (Stat5), a transcription factor that is activated by growth hormone signaling, but celecoxib treatment restored its activation. In conclusion, these results suggest that celecoxib exerts anticancer effects on altered hepatic cells by restoring mRNA and the protein expression levels of specific genes, in part through the reactivation of Stat5.