Removal of choline from the diet results in accumulation of triglycerides in the liver, and chronic dietary deficiency produces a non-genotoxic model of hepatocellular carcinoma. An early event in choline deficiency is the appearance of oxidized lipid, DNA and protein, suggesting that increased oxidative stress may facilitate neoplasia in the choline deficient liver. In this study, we find that mitochondria isolated from rats fed a choline-deficient, L-amino acid defined diet (CDAA) demonstrate impaired respiratory function, particularly in regard to complex I-linked (NADH-dependent) respiration. This impairment in mitochondrial electron transport occurs coincidentally with alterations in phosphatidylcholine metabolism as indicated by an increased ratio of long-chain to short-chain mitochondrial phosphatidylcholine. Moreover, hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) generation is significantly increased in mitochondria isolated from CDAA rats compared with mitochondrial from normal rats, and the NADH-specific yield of H(2)O(2) is increased by at least 2.5-fold. These findings suggest an explanation for the rapid onset of oxidative stress and energy compromise in the choline deficiency model of hepatocellular carcinoma and indicate that dietary choline withdrawal may be a useful paradigm for the study of mitochondrial pathophysiology in carcinogenesis.
Free radical formation evoked by proinflammatory cytokines has been suggested to be involved in the destruction of -cells in the course of type 1 diabetes development. However, there is no direct evidence to support this hypothesis. In this study, we used electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy in conjunction with spin-trapping methodology to directly determine whether cytokines give rise to free radical formation in the islets. Our results demonstrate that direct, in vivo administration of tumor necrosis factor-␣ (1,000 units), interleukin-1 (1,000 units), and interferon-␥ (2,000 units) into the rat pancreas through a bile duct cannula leads to the formation of lipid-derived free radicals in this tissue. These free radicals most likely are generated by the -cells because previous depletion of these cells by streptozotocin abolished the cytokine-induced free radical formation. Furthermore, macrophage depletion was found to decrease the production of free radicals. Inhibition of the enzyme inducible cyclooxygenase (COX-2) and the transcription factor nuclear factor-B (NF-B) significantly diminished the free radicals' signal intensity, implicating these factors in the formation of free radicals. We have also demonstrated that cytokine treatment leads to the activation of NF-B in the pancreatic islets of the rats.
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