allopurinol and Choline-Deficiency

Xanthine oxidase (XO) is an enzyme involved in the production of uric acid (UA) from purine nucleotides. Numerous recent studies have revealed the likelihood of metabolic syndrome including nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) or steatohepatitis (NASH) to be related to hyperuricemia. However, it remains unclear whether elevated serum UA during the development of NAFLD or NASH is a cause or a consequence of these diseases. In this study, the XO inhibitor febuxostat was administered to two types of NASH model mice. Febuxostat exerted a strong protective effect against NASH development induced by a high-fat diet containing trans fatty acid (HFDT). In contrast, methionine choline-deficient-diet-induced NASH development not accompanied by hyperuricemia showed no UA normalization, suggesting that the ameliorating effect of febuxostat occurs via the normalization of hyperuricemia itself and/or accompanying molecular mechanism(s) such as oxidative stress. In the HFDT-fed mice, hyperuricemia, elevated alanine aminotransferase, and increased Tunnel-positive cells in the liver were normalized by febuxostat administration. In addition, upregulation of fatty acid oxidation-related genes, fibrotic change, and increases in collagen deposition, inflammatory cytokine expressions, and lipid peroxidation in the HFDT-fed mice were also normalized by febuxostat administration. Taken together, these observations indicate that administration of febuxostat has a protective effect against HFDT-induced NASH development, suggesting the importance of XO in its pathogenesis. Thus XO inhibitors are potentially potent therapies for patients with NASH, particularly that associated with hyperuricemia.

Topics: Animals; Apoptosis; Choline Deficiency; Cytoprotection; Diet, High-Fat; Enzyme Inhibitors; Febuxostat; Gout Suppressants; Hyperuricemia; Liver; Liver Cirrhosis, Experimental; Methionine; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease; Thiazoles; Uric Acid; Xanthine Oxidase

Topics: Acetylcysteine; Adenosine; Allopurinol; Animals; Antibodies, Monoclonal; Choline Deficiency; Fatty Liver; Glutathione; Insulin; Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1; Ischemia; Liver; Male; Methionine; Organ Preservation; Organ Preservation Solutions; Raffinose; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Reperfusion Injury

The present studies were done to evaluate the therapeutic potential of several antioxidants and free radical scavengers in three different models of acute pancreatitis. (a) Edematous pancreatitis with acinar cells necrosis was induced by seven hourly intraperitoneal injections of 50 micrograms of caerulein per kg in mice. (b) Hemorrhagic pancreatitis was induced by feeding a choline-deficient, ethionine-supplemented (CDE) diet in mice. (c) Hemorrhagic pancreatitis was induced by retrograde infusion of 0.6 ml of 5% sodium taurocholate into the pancreatic duct in rats. The following antioxidants and free radical scavengers were given at various doses intravenously, subcutaneously, or intraperitoneally before the onset of pancreatitis: Ebselen [2-phenyl-1,2-benzisoselenazol-3(2H)-one], superoxide dismutase, catalase, deferoxamine (Desferal), dimethyl sulfoxide, or allopurinol. The severity of pancreatitis was assessed at various times after its onset by determination of serum amylase and pancreatic weight (edema), by grading of histological alterations, and by determination of survival (survival determined in models of hemorrhagic pancreatitis). In general, free radical scavengers and antioxidants ameliorated edema and inflammation to a greater degree than necrosis and the increase in serum amylase. Superoxide dismutase (as did Ebselen in previous studies) exerted beneficial effects on survival in diet-induced pancreatitis in the absence of marked effects on pancreatic necrosis, suggesting that these beneficial effects are due to amelioration of extrapancreatic complications that often contribute to mortality in acute pancreatitis. None of the antioxidants had major beneficial effects in taurocholate-induced hemorrhagic pancreatitis. Thus, formation of free radicals may be important for progression and outcome in diet-induced and, to a lesser degree, in caerulein-induced pancreatitis but not at all in taurocholate-induced pancreatitis. Different models of pancreatitis may, therefore, involve different degrees and mechanisms of free radical formation. Despite the amelioration of edema and the beneficial effects on mortality seen for some antioxidants in some of the models, antioxidants and free radical scavengers appear to have only a limited potential for treatment of acute pancreatitis.

Topics: Acute Disease; Administration, Oral; Allopurinol; Animals; Antioxidants; Catalase; Ceruletide; Choline Deficiency; Deferoxamine; Diet; Dimethyl Sulfoxide; Disease Models, Animal; Ethionine; Female; Free Radical Scavengers; Injections, Intraperitoneal; Injections, Intravenous; Injections, Subcutaneous; Male; Mice; Organ Size; Pancreas; Pancreatitis; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Severity of Illness Index; Superoxide Dismutase; Taurocholic Acid

The role of oxygen-derived free radicals in the pathogenesis of acute pancreatitis was studied by evaluating the effects of catalase, allopurinol, and dimethylsulfoxide on diet-induced acute hemorrhagic pancreatic necrosis in mice. The mortality rate and degree of hyperamylasemia associated with this model of pancreatitis were reduced by catalase but a similar result followed the administration of heat-denatured catalase, suggesting that the apparent protective effect of catalase was not the result of reductions in free radical levels. Neither allopurinol nor dimethylsulfoxide reduced mortality or degree of hyperamylasemia. The increased pancreatic content of amylase and the necrosis that characterize this model of pancreatitis were not altered by any of the agents tested. In contrast, both allopurinol and dimethylsulfoxide reduced peripancreatic edema formation, suggesting that edema, but not the other features that characterize this model of pancreatitis, may result from generation of oxygen-derived free radicals.

Topics: Acute Disease; Allopurinol; Amylases; Animals; Catalase; Choline Deficiency; Diet; Dimethyl Sulfoxide; Edema; Ethionine; Female; Free Radicals; Hemorrhage; Mice; Necrosis; Oxygen; Pancreatitis