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Biomedical subjects

A E McLean

Publications and source records attributed to A E McLean.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Effects of dietary imbalances on spermatogenesis in CD-1 mice and CD rats.

Nutritional toxicology is now a well established discipline for somatic cells, but no such approach is widely used yet in studies of reproductive toxicology. Reduced dietary intake in mice is known to impair spermatogenesis, and animals in toxicity studies frequently show reduced food intake after dosing. Furthermore, although many human groups have nutritionally inadequate diets, the impact of dietary imbalances on the reproductive system has not been systematically examined. A series of experiments was conducted to dissect the spermatogenic response to dietary alterations in mice and rats. It was found that in mice, the increase in abnormal sperm after such treatment was the result of a lack of calories, while the decrease in sperm counts may have been caused by a lack of protein. In rats, dietary restriction was found only to deplete sperm numbers, probably because of a lack of calories and/or non-energetic components of the diet. Additionally, it was shown that a protein-free diet causes a multiplicity of effects on germ cells, some of which are different in mice and rats. A low-fat diet had an adverse effect on sperm numbers and a similar, but much more pronounced effect was observed in both species fed a carbohydrate-free diet. These alterations of spermatogenic endpoints and the species differences observed, have considerable implications for reproductive toxicology.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1992

The effect of brassica vegetable consumption on caffeine metabolism in humans.

Ten healthy volunteers were used in two studies investigating the effect of short-term Brassica consumption on caffeine metabolism. In the first study volunteers were given three Brassica-containing meals, the last one 3 h prior to caffeine administration. In the second study volunteers were given two Brassica-containing meals and then fasted overnight before caffeine administration. In both studies the mean plasma half-life of caffeine was reduced by approximately 20% following a Brassica diet, suggesting that Brassica vegetables stimulate caffeine metabolism. When caffeine was given 3 h after the last meal, plasma caffeine concentrations over 6 h, were increased by up to 27% on the Brassica diet compared to controls. This may be due to a transient increased permeability of the intestine to caffeine, immediately following Brassica consumption. This effect was not seen in the second study where there was a 12-h period between the last meal and caffeine administration. There was large interindividual variation in the effect of the Brassica diet on caffeine metabolism.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1991

Effect of paracetamol on mitochondrial membrane function in rat liver slices.

The effect of paracetamol on mitochondrial function was studied using rat liver slices. Changes in the potential of the mitochondrial and plasma membrane were monitored using [3H]-triphenylmethylphosphonium (TPMP+) and [14C]thiocyanate (SCN-) probes, respectively. Liver slices were exposed to 10 mM paracetamol for various time periods (0-360 min) after loading with TPMP+. The release of TPMP+ which correlates with a decrease in the mitochondrial membrane potential became significant after 30 min incubation with 10 mM paracetamol. The change in the mitochondrial membrane potential was shown to be independent of cytochrome P450 activity. No significant change in plasma membrane potential was observed, until the release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) had begun, 4 hr after exposure, reflecting the ultimate stages of cell injury by paracetamol. These results suggest that paracetamol elicits a direct effect on the mitochondrial function before cell injury develops and adds further evidence to the role of mitochondria in paracetamol toxicity.

Acetaminophen↗
PubMed1991

Prevention of paracetamol-induced liver injury by fructose.

Hepatic cell injury was studied in an in vitro system using rat liver slices incubated in two stages. During the first 2 hr slices were exposed to 10 mM paracetamol, this was absent during the subsequent 4 hr of incubation. Cell damage was quantified at the end by measuring leakage of lactic dehydrogenase, increase in water content and potassium loss. Treatment of slices with 20 mM fructose in the second period of incubation prevented paracetamol-induced damage. The effect of fructose was not modified by the continued presence of paracetamol in the second incubation period. The inhibition of glycolysis either with 1 mM NaF or 10 microM iodoacetate blocked the effect of fructose. The protective effect afforded by fructose was not duplicated by the addition of lactate. All these findings strongly suggest an increase in intracellular ATP levels as the most probable explanation for the protective effect of fructose, and point to fructose as a potentially useful therapeutic tool for protection of the liver late in paracetamol intoxication.

Acetaminophen↗
PubMed1991

The effect of therapeutic doses of paracetamol on sulphur metabolism in man.

1. This study was designed to investigate the effect of prolonged paracetamol intake on sulphur metabolism in patients. Six patients, taking paracetamol in doses of 2-4 g d-1 and one taking 12 g d-1 took part in the study. Daily (24-h) collections of urine, and also plasma samples from these patients were analysed and in one case a study with additional methionine was performed. 2. The patients showed variable decrease in urinary output of inorganic sulphate but moderately raised plasma levels of inorganic sulphate. 3. Paracetamol metabolism was characterized by dominance of the glucuronidation pathway with the increase of the administered dose of paracetamol. Methionine added to the diet did not change this metabolic pattern. None of the subjects produced more than 0.6 mmol h-1 paracetamol sulphate while total sulphur excretion was 7.5-26.7 mmol d-1. 4. Volunteers taking 3 g d-1 paracetamol were also studied. 5. In persons taking a normal western diet containing over 20 mmol d-1 sulphur amino-acids paracetamol metabolism will not lead to sulphur amino-acid depletion even if high daily doses are used.

Acetaminophen↗
PubMed1991

Urogastrone-epidermal growth factor and aspects of sexual maturation in female rats as a function of age at treatment.

The effect of epidermal growth factor (EGF) on sexual maturation of female rats was studied. A within-litter experimental design was employed, so that in each litter each female received four daily injections of EGF (E, 500 ng/g body weight s.c.) or vehicle (V), at one of three ages: days 0-3 (E1, V1), days 8-11 (E2, V2), days 16-19 (E3, V3). Body weight, pinna detachment, incisor eruption, eye opening, auditory startle, visual placing, vaginal opening and first cytological oestrus were assessed. Neonatal treatment with EGF (E1) delayed pinna detachment and the appearance of the auditory startle, but accelerated eye opening. Also, E1, but not E2 and E3, resulted in lower body weight at weaning. Treatment E3 advanced sexual maturation, as indicated by vaginal opening and first cytological oestrus, by 5-6 days. E1 and E2 had no such effect. Hence the sensitive period for the effect of EGF on female rat sexual maturation is later than that for effects on other developmental characteristics and body weight. In a second experiment, ovary and uterus weights were found not to differ between E3 and V3 females killed on the day of vaginal opening of the E3 rats, suggesting that the effect of EGF may be specifically on the perineal epithelium and not on sexual maturation generally.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1990

Electron transport and protection of liver slices in the late stage of paracetamol injury.

Cell injury by chemicals takes place in two stages, initial chemical interaction between the material and cell components, and subsequent stages of adaptation or failure of response to chemical modification of some parts of the cell apparatus. Paracetamol toxicity was studied in an in vitro system using liver slices incubated in two stages. During the first 2 hr slices were exposed to 10 mM paracetamol and this was absent during the following 4 hr of incubation. Damage was quantified at the end by measuring leakage of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), increase in water content and potassium loss. Treatment of slices with 10 microM DCPIP or 2 mM ethanol in the second period of incubation prevented paracetamol-induced damage. The protective effect was not dependent on the activity of P450 since the second stage of incubation was insensitive to SKF-525A. The protective effect of ethanol was blocked by the presence of 1 mM pyrazole suggesting that ethanol needs to be metabolized to exert its effect. The addition of 20 mM pyruvate reversed the protection provided by ethanol. Nicotinamide did not alter toxicity or protection by ethanol. These findings suggest an increase of NADH and NADH/NAD ratio as the most probable explanation for the protective effect observed. The role of reducing equivalents in detoxification of quinones such as NAPQI by formation of hydroquinones, is discussed in relation to the mechanism of cell injury by paracetamol.

2,6-Dichloroindophenol↗
PubMed1989

Effect of D- or L-methionine and cysteine on the growth inhibitory effects of feeding 1% paracetamol to rats.

Rats fed 1% paracetamol in the diet failed to grow and a dose-dependent inhibition of growth was observed and found to be independent of hepatoxicity. Addition of 0.5% D- or L-methionine, or L-cysteine to a diet containing 1% paracetamol restored growth. Addition of L-methionine to the drinking water was equally effective. Feeding D-cysteine or sodium sulphate were ineffective. Acute paracetamol toxicity was also prevented by D- as well as by L-methionine. It is concluded that the inhibition of growth was due to depletion of sulphur amino acids in the course of paracetamol metabolism. This was sometimes followed by episodes of liver cell injury. Since the normal human dosage of paracetamol is up to 4 g/day, which is equivalent to 1% of the diet, the possibility of induction of amino acid deficiency by chronic use of paracetamol in normal dosage is raised.

Acetaminophen↗
PubMed1989

The effect of feeding brassica vegetables and intact glucosinolates on mixed-function-oxidase activity in the livers and intestines of rats.

Significant induction of mixed-function-oxidase (MFO) activity was observed in the small intestines of rats within 4-6 hr of ingestion of a single meal containing a Brassica vegetable (cabbage). Intact Brussels sprouts and a fractionated methanol-water extract of Brussels sprouts induced similar degrees of MFO activity in the livers, and small and large intestines of rats. However, the residue left after extraction of the polar compounds did not induce MFO activity. Different amounts of the various naturally-occurring thioglycosides and glucosinolates were found in the intact Brussels sprouts and in the extract, but virtually none were found in the extracted residue. When glucusinolates that were found in Brussels sprouts (sinigrin, progoitrin, glucobrassicin and glucotropaeolin) were fed separately to rats, only the indole glucosinolate, glucobrassicin, induced MFO activity (causing induction in the small intestines of the rats). This is consistent with the inducing activity of the various hydrolysis products of this glucosinolate. This is the first study in which an attempt has been made to define the inducing compounds in Brassica vegetables by feeding the individual purified glucosinolates.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Effect of two different types of malnutrition on the rate of elimination of ethanol in rats.

Rats were fed "3% casein" or a "calorie deficient" diet, in the form of commercial pellet diet (SDS) at 50% of the amount consumed by the control group, which was fed SDS pellets ad libitum. Both of the deficient groups showed failure of weight gain in comparison with the control group. Blood levels of ethanol were measured for 3 hr after intraperitoneal injection of 1 or 1.5 g/kg at 15, 29 and 36 days after commencement of the diet. In addition the calorie deficient group was studied immediately after feeding as well as in the fasting state. Blood levels of ethanol were measured and the apparent volume of distribution and rate of removal of ethanol from the blood were calculated. A rate of ethanol metabolism/g of liver was derived. The rate of removal of ethanol was markedly decreased in the 3% casein group to less than half of control values. Three hours after injection of ethanol circulating levels were less than 50 mg/100 ml in the control and calorie deficient groups but over 200 mg/100 ml in the group fed protein deficient diets. There were no major changes in volume of distribution and the only explanation for the finding is that there is a failure of ethanol metabolism in the rats fed the low protein diet. The implication is that protein deficient human populations who often consume considerable quantities of ethanol may have a high level of tissue exposure to ethanol though the rate of metabolite formation may be low.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Chemical and biological properties of indole glucosinolates (glucobrassicins): a review.

Glucosinolates are a group of secondary products commonly, but not exclusively, found in plants of the family Cruciferae. They give rise, upon enzymic hydrolysis, to a range of volatile, pungent and physiologically active compounds. Recently, particular attention has been focused upon those that are trytophan-derived--the indole glucosinolates (glucobrassicins). When chemically or enzymically hydrolysed these compounds give rise to a range of involatile indole compounds which have been implicated in the anti-carcinogenic and mixed-function-oxidase stimulatory activities of brassica vegetables. This review details the chemical and physiological properties of indole glucosinolates and their products and suggests possible areas for future research.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

DNA alkylation by 1,2-dimethylhydrazine in the rat large intestine and liver: influence of diet and enzyme induction.

Male Wistar rats were fed a semi-purified diet (MID - minimal inducing diet) with or without addition of 50 ppm of beta-naphthoflavone (BNF) for 1 week. After 1 week the rats were dosed with 20 mg/kg of 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH) subcutaneously and killed at various time intervals from the injection. Enzyme levels were determined in microsomal and cytosolic fractions prepared from the liver and the intestinal mucosa. Feeding of BNF for 1 week caused a 6.5-fold increase of 7-ethoxyresorufin (7-ERR) deethylase in the colon as compared to the controls, but did not alter glutathione (GSH) content nor glutathione-S-transferase (GSHST) activity. Hepatic cytochrome P-450 and 7-ERR deethylation were not significantly altered by feeding of BNF at this concentration, whereas GSH and GSHST were increased by a factor of 1.6 and 2, respectively. In the DMH-dosed rats, O6-methylguanine was formed to a greater extent in the BNF-treated colon than in the controls at 1, 12 and 24 h, whilst N7-methylguanine levels were essentially the same in the induced and uninduced rats. No significant difference was found in the degree of hepatic DNA alkylation at any time points. As shown by our results, the nature of the diet would appear to be able to modulate the rate of metabolic activation of DMH and its binding to DNA in the target organ.

1,2-Dimethylhydrazine↗
PubMed1988

Is enzyme induction good for you? A problem of epidemiology and toxicology.

1. The discoveries that pre-treatment with certain compounds could increase the amounts of drug metabolizing enzymes present in the liver and that metabolism could enhance as well as reduce the toxicity of exogenous molecules were important milestones in toxicology. 2. Some clinically important adverse effects (vitamin D deficiency, reduced efficacy of oral contraceptives, interactions with anticoagulants) were found to be due to enzyme induction by, for example, anticonvulsants. 3. Intestinal enzymes are also inducible and can respond rapidly to individual compounds while the liver enzymes respond more slowly to the diet as a whole. Although promoting hepatic tumours in rats and mice, phenobarbitone does not have this effect in man because there seems to be a threshold for promotion which human use does not exceed. In neither case is there evidence that induction is harmful rather than adaptive in man. 4. As to the future, post-marketing surveillance will continue to be important in assessing the safety of new products, and knowledge of the metabolism and pharmacokinetics of new compounds in experimental animals and in man will assume greater importance. Finally, greater understanding of intracellular processes will pave the way to the study of toxicology at the macromolecular level and thus to critically assess the validity of the animal models currently used in toxicity testing.

Animals↗