The effects of gadolinium chloride, a Kupffer cell toxicant, on the constitutive and inducible expression of hepatic microsomal epoxide hydrolase (mEH) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) genes were examined in rats. Northern blot analysis showed that treatment of rats with GdCl3 caused suppression of mEH and GST gene expression. mEH mRNA levels were decreased in a time-dependent manner after a...

Carcinogenesis is a multiyear, multistep, multipath disease of progressive genetic and associated tissue damage. Chemoprevention—defined as the use of drugs or other agents to inhibit, delay or reverse this process—is recognized as a very promising and important area in clinical cancer research [1, 2] and has proved to be an effective strategy for risk reduction of breast, prostate and colorect...

A characteristic feature of the class Theta glutathione S-transferase (GST) T1-1 is its ability to activate dichloromethane and dibromoethane by catalysing the formation of mutagenic conjugates. The level of the GSTT1 subunit within tissues is an important determinant of susceptibility to the carcinogenic effects of these dihaloalkanes. In the present study it is demonstrated that hepatic GST a...

Polypharmacy increasingly has become a topic of public health concern, particularly as the U.S. population ages. Drug labels often contain insufficient information to enable the clinician to safely use multiple drugs. Because many of the drugs are bio-transformed by cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes, inhibition of CYP activity has long been associated with potentially adverse health effects. In an ...

Aflatoxins are secondary fungal metabolites that contaminate agricultural commodities and can cause sickness or death in humans and animals. Risk of aflatoxin contamination of food and feed in Africa is increased due to environmental, agronomic and socio-economic factors. Environmental conditions especially high humidity and temperature favour fungal proliferation, but also drought conditions i...

The effects of acriflavine (ACF), a protein kinase C inhibitor, on the expression of hepatic microsomal epoxide hydrolase (mEH), glutathione S-transferases (GSTs), and cytochrome P450 (P450) were assessed in rat hepatic tissue. Northern blot analysis revealed that treatment of rats with thiazole, allyl disulfide (ADS), oltipraz, or clotrimazole at a single dose of 100 mg/kg resulted in 7-18-fol...

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer in the world with 80% of cases occurring in developing countries. The cancer is rapidly fatal in almost all cases with survival generally less than 1 year from diagnosis. The major risk factors for this cancer have been identified as chronic infection with hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C (HCV) viruses and dietary exposure to aflat...

BACKGROUND Thromboxane B2 (TXB2) and superoxide anion (O2-) are neuroinflammatory mediators that appear to be involved in the pathogenesis of several neurodegenerative diseases. Because activated-microglia are the main source of TXB2 and O2- in these disorders, modulation of their synthesis has been hypothesized as a potential therapeutic approach for neuroinflammatory disorders. Marine natural...

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is based on the administration of tumor-localizing photosensitizers followed by light exposure of the tumor mass. The photocytotoxic effects are mainly caused by the generation of singlet oxygen. Recently, PDT has been proposed for use in combination with anticancer chemotherapy with a view to exploiting any additive antitumor effect. We investigated the effect of PDT...

N-feruloylserotonin (N-f-5HT) isomers, isolated from seeds of Leuzea carthamoides (Wild) DC, inhibited dose-dependent oxidative burst in human whole blood and isolated neutrophils in vitro, which were measured by luminol- and/or isoluminol-enhanced chemiluminescence in the following rank order of stimuli: PMA > OpZ > calcium ionophore A23187. In isolated neutrophils that were stimulated with PM...