Tissue Cytochromes

The efficiency of superoxide assays strongly depend on the nature of superoxide producers. Significant difficulties arise in the detection of superoxide in cells and tissue. Cytochrome c is unable to penetrate cell membranes and therefore, can be used only for the measurement of extracellular superoxide. Furthermore, SOD-inhibitable cytochrome c reduction is difficult to apply in nonphagocytic cells and tissue due to the complications of measuring low rates of superoxide release, direct reduction of cytochrome c by cellular enzymes, the reoxidation of reduced cytochrome by hydrogen peroxide, etc. [8], Moreover, in nonphagocytic cells superoxide is formed exclusively inside the cells and is not released outside as in phagocytes. These circumstances severely limit the number of analytical methods, which can be used for superoxide detection in vasculature. 

Correct answer = B. The cyclic heme molecule is oxidatively cleaved to form biliverdin. The catabolism occurs in the cells of the reticulo endothelial system, particularly the spleen, and results in the liberation of carbon monoxide. Protoporphyrinogen is an intermediate in the synthesis, not degradation, of heme. Hemo globin and tissue cytochromes are precursors of bilirubin. 

IV. TISSUE CYTOCHROME C OXIDASE ACTIVITY (nmol 02 mg protein 1 min ) ... 

OTHER ENZYME MEASUREMENTS 2.5.1 Tissue Cytochromes P450... 

Cytochrome Cytochromes in the c family have been found in bacteria and have been named cytochrome Cl, C2, C3, C4, C5, etc Cl is the only one also present in mammalian tissue. Cytochrome Ci has spectral characteristics similar to those of cytochrome c. It was found in the heart muscle preparation of Keilin and Hartree. Cytochrome Ci differs from cytochrome c in two ways it is not easily extractible, and it is thermola-bile. It resembles cytochrome c in that it does not react with oxygen, carbon monoxide, or cyanide. 

In mammalian tissues, cytochrome P-450 may catalyze the generation of free radicals via the decomposition of hydroperoxides (Horton and Fairhurst, 1987). The reaction in skeletal muscle microsomes is dependent on the presence of NADH or NADPH, ADP and iron (Rhee, 1988). Also, the NADPH dehydrogenase of the respiratory chain may initiate lipid peroxidation via the generation of superoxide radicals (Horton and Fairhurst, 1987). Furthermore, peroxidases, cyclooxygenases, prostaglandin synthase, methemoglobin and microsomal oxidases in animal tissues have been implicated in the initiation and promotion of lipid peroxidation in muscle tissues (Kanner and Harel, 1985 Hsieh and KinseUa, 1989). 

L-Tyrosine metabohsm and catecholamine biosynthesis occur largely in the brain, central nervous tissue, and endocrine system, which have large pools of L-ascorbic acid (128). Catecholamine, a neurotransmitter, is the precursor in the formation of dopamine, which is converted to noradrenaline and adrenaline. The precise role of ascorbic acid has not been completely understood. Ascorbic acid has important biochemical functions with various hydroxylase enzymes in steroid, dmg, andhpid metabohsm. The cytochrome P-450 oxidase catalyzes the conversion of cholesterol to bUe acids and the detoxification process of aromatic dmgs and other xenobiotics, eg, carcinogens, poUutants, and pesticides, in the body (129). The effects of L-ascorbic acid on histamine metabohsm related to scurvy and anaphylactic shock have been investigated (130). Another ceUular reaction involving ascorbic acid is the conversion of folate to tetrahydrofolate. Ascorbic acid has many biochemical functions which affect the immune system of the body (131). 

Plasma levels of 3—5 p.g/mL are obtained two hours after adraiinistration of 200 mg ketoconazole. No accumulation in the bloodstream was noted after a 30-wk treatment with this dose. The half-life is approximately eight hours. When ketoconazole is taken with meals, higher plasma levels are obtained. Distribution studies using radioactive ketoconazole in rats show radioactivity mainly in the Hver and the connective tissue. Radioactivity is also present in the subcutaneous tissue and the sebaceous glands. After one dose of 200 mg in humans, ketoconazole is found in urine, saUva, sebum, and cenimen. Like miconazole, the mode of action is based on inhibition of the cytochrome P-450 dependent biosynthesis of ergosterol. This results in disturbed membrane permeabiUty and membrane-bound enzymes (8,10,23,25). 

The process whereby cellular and tissue levels of one or more cytochrome P450 enzymes are increased in response to treatment of cells, or a whole organism,... 

Evidence suggests that endosulfan can induce microsomal enzyme activity. Increased liver microsomal cytochrome P-450 activity was observed in male and female rats after single and multiple administrations of endosulfan (Siddiqui et al. 1987a Tyagi et al. 1984). Increased enzyme activity was observed in hepatic and extrahepatic tissues. Based on the increase in aminopyrine-A-demethylase and aniline hydroxylase activity, endosulfan has been shown to be a nonspecific inducer of drug metabolism (Agarwal et al. 1978). 

Since endosulfan is a cytochrome P450-dependent monooxygenase inducer, the quantification of specific enzyme activities (e.g., aminopyrine-A -demethylase, aniline hydroxylase) may indicate that exposure to endosulfan has occurred (Agarwal et al. 1978). Because numerous chemicals and drugs found at hazardous waste sites and elsewhere also induce hepatic enzymes, these measurements are nonspecific and are not necessarily an indicator solely of endosulfan exposure. However, these enzyme levels can be useful indicators of exposure, together with the detection of endosulfan isomers or the sulfate metabolite in the tissues or excreta. 

Exposure. Known biomarkers of exposure to endosulfan include the measurement of endosulfan or its metabolites in tissue and excreta (Deema et al. 1966 Dorough et al. 1978 Gorbach et al. 1968) these measurements can indicate whether absorption of endosulfan has occurred. The presence of the parent compound and its metabolites are specific biomarkers for endosulfan exposure. However, no studies are available that quantify the concentrations of endosulfan or its metabolites in relation to specific environmental exposure levels. Since endosulfan induces cytochrome P450-dependent monooxygenases... 

Under anaerobic conditions, p,p -DDT is converted to p,p -DDD by reductive dechlorination, a biotransfonnation that occurs postmortem in vertebrate tissues such as liver and muscle and in certain anaerobic microorganisms (Walker and Jefferies 1978). Reductive dechlorination is carried out by reduced iron porphyrins. It is carried out by cytochrome P450 of vertebrate liver microsomes when supplied with NADPH in the absence of oxygen (Walker 1969 Walker and Jefferies 1978). Reductive dechlorination by hepatic microsomal cytochrome P450 can account for the relatively rapid conversion of p,p -DDT to p,p -DDD in avian liver immediately after death, and mirrors the reductive dechlorination of other organochlorine substrates (e.g., CCI4 and halothane) under anaerobic conditions. It is uncertain to what extent, if at all, the reductive dechlorination of DDT occurs in vivo in vertebrates (Walker 1974). 

Mechanistic studies have shown that TBT and certain other forms of trialkyltin have two distinct modes of toxic action in vertebrates. On the one hand they act as inhibitors of oxidative phosphorylation in mitochondria (Aldridge and Street 1964). Inhibition is associated with repression of ATP synthesis, disturbance of ion transport across the mitochondrial membrane, and swelling of the membrane. Oxidative phosphorylation is a vital process in animals and plants, and so trialkyltin compounds act as wide-ranging biocides. Another mode of action involves the inhibition of forms of cytochrome P450, which was referred to earlier in connection with metabolism. This has been demonstrated in mammals, aquatic invertebrates and fish (Morcillo et al. 2004, Oberdorster 2002). TBTO has been shown to inhibit P450 activity in cells from various tissues of mammals, including liver, kidney, and small intestine mucosa, both in vivo and in vitro (Rosenberg and Drummond 1983, Environmental Health Criteria 116). 

Peroxidases are found in milk and in leukocytes, platelets, and other tissues involved in eicosanoid metabolism (Chapter 23). The prosthetic group is protoheme. In the reaction catalyzed by peroxidase, hydrogen peroxide is reduced at the expense of several substances that will act as electron acceptors, such as ascorbate, quinones, and cytochrome c. The reaction catalyzed by peroxidase is complex, but the overall reaction is as follows ... 

Mitochondrial cytochrome P450 systems are found in steroidogenic tissues such as adrenal cortex, testis, ovary, and placenta and are concerned with the biosyn-... 

Superoxide is formed (reaction 1) in the red blood cell by the auto-oxidation of hemoglobin to methemo-globin (approximately 3% of hemoglobin in human red blood cells has been calculated to auto-oxidize per day) in other tissues, it is formed by the action of enzymes such as cytochrome P450 reductase and xanthine oxidase. When stimulated by contact with bacteria, neutrophils exhibit a respiratory burst (see below) and produce superoxide in a reaction catalyzed by NADPH oxidase (reaction 2). Superoxide spontaneously dismu-tates to form H2O2 and O2 however, the rate of this same reaction is speeded up tremendously by the action of the enzyme superoxide dismutase (reaction 3). Hydrogen peroxide is subject to a number of fates. The enzyme catalase, present in many types of cells, converts... 

Hydroxylation is the chief reaction involved in phase 1. The responsible enzymes are called monooxygenases or cytochrome P450s the human genome encodes at least 14 families of these enzymes. Estimates of the number of distinct cytochrome P450s in human tissues range from approximately 35 to 60. The reaction catalyzed by a monooxygenase (cytochrome P450) is as follows ... 

Members of at least 11 famihes of cytochrome P450 are found in human tissue. 

---