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M A Sarkar

Publications and source records attributed to M A Sarkar.

22 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Community participation in a diarrhoeal outbreak: a case study.

An account is presented of how a diarrhoeal disease outbreak was combatted by a community in a remote area of southern Bangladesh. Temporary treatment centres were set up in epidemic areas, and large numbers of patients used those facilities. Government health personnel cooperated with the community, which mobilized all available resources in an effort to forestall a catastroph. The case fatality rate at the treatment centres was reported to be 1.4%. Ninety-three percent of patients came from a radius of three km or less. From this experience, it may be concluded that increased community efforts and involvement are effective long-term means of controlling diarrhoeal diseases.

Bangladesh↗

Solid phase extraction and simultaneous high performance liquid chromatographic determination of antipyrine and its major metabolites in urine.

A reversed phase gradient high performance liquid chromatographic method utilizing solid phase extraction has been described for the simultaneous determination of antipyrine (AP), 4-hydroxyantipyrine (4-OHAP), norantipyrine (NorAP) and 3-hydroxymethylantipyrine (3-OHMAP) in human urine after hydrolysis with beta-glucuronidase. The C-18 sorbent cartridges were conditioned and urine samples were applied, washed with 1 x 4 mL of phosphate buffer and eluted with 3 x 100 microL of 20% v/v of acetonitrile in methylene chloride. The eluent was evaporated to dryness, reconstituted in 100 microL phosphate buffer and injected. The calibration ranges were 2.0-250 micrograms/mL (AP), 2.5-250 micrograms/mL (NorAP), 2.0-250 micrograms/mL (3-OHMAP) and 5.0-500 micrograms/mL (4-OHAP) with regression coefficients of 0.998 or greater. Specificity was indicated by the absence of interferences in chromatogram of blank urine from normal as well as cirrhotic patients. The average recovery was 86.7% for AP, 90.5% for NorAP, 85.2% for 4-OHAP and 74.2% for 3-OHMAP. The within-assay precision as indicated by the reproducibility of the assayed spiked urine was less than 9% in all cases and the between-assay precision was less than 12%. The method was applied to studies on antipyrine metabolism in stable cirrhotic patients. Following administration of a single oral dose of about 1000 mg to nine stable cirrhotic patients and eight age-matched healthy volunteers, the cumulative account excreted in the urine up to 48 h for AP and the three metabolites was comparable to other literature reports.

Antipyrine↗

Characterization of human liver cytochromes P-450 involved in theophylline metabolism.

Theophylline is metabolized in the liver by one or more cytochrome P-450 enzymes. To assess the amounts and types of these human cytochromes P-450, we incubated theophylline with microsomes prepared from 22 different human livers in the presence of NADPH, and measured simultaneous rates of 1- and 3-N-demethylations to 3-methylxanthine (3-MX) and 1-methylxanthine (1-MX), respectively; and 8-hydroxylation to 1,3-dimethyluric acid (1,3-DMU). Under optimal conditions, 3-MX, 1-MX, and 1,3-DMU formation proceeded with mean Km values of 2.05, 1.93, and 5.34 mM and Vmax values of 2.28, 2.48, and 23.4 pmol/mg/min, respectively. Formation of 3-MX and 1-MX correlated best with amounts of the immunoreactive protein HLd (P-450IA2) (p less than 0.05), whereas formation of 1,3-DMU correlated with the microsomal content of HLp (P-450IIIA3) and HLj (P-450IIE1). In immunoinhibition experiments, incubations conducted with a polyclonal anti-rat P-450c/d antibody, the formation of all the three theophylline metabolites (p less than 0.05) was significantly inhibited. However, addition of isoform-specific anti-rat-P-450d antibodies to the microsomal mixture significantly inhibited 1-N-demethylation, selectively, with little (if any) inhibition of 3-N-demethylation or 8-hydroxylation. Nonspecific cytochrome P-450 inhibition was ruled out by showing that erythromycin N-demethylation, an activity catalyzed by HLp, was unaffected by either anti-P-450c/d (P-450IA1/IA2) or anti-P-450d. Anti-rat-P-450p antibodies failed to block formation of theophylline metabolism, but did inhibit erythromycin N-demethylase.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

Theophylline N-demethylations as probes for P4501A1 and P4501A2.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons present in cigarette smoke induce cytochromes P4501A1 and P4501A2. These isozymes are of toxicological importance because they convert several environmental pollutants to reactive intermediates that form covalent adducts with cellular DNA resulting in mutations and/or malignant transformations. The aim of our research was to investigate whether theophylline metabolites could be used as probes for P4501A1 and P4501A2. It is known that at least two human P450 isozymes are involved in theophylline metabolism. The N-demethylations of theophylline to 3-methylxanthine (3-MX) and 1-methylxanthine (1-MX) appear to be mediated by P4501A1 and/or P4501A2 and the 8-hydroxylation by different isozymes. Theophylline metabolism was measured in liver microsomes from control, benzo(a)pyrene (BP)-, and isosafrole (ISO)-induced rats. Theophylline was also incubated in microsomes prepared from cells expressing high levels of human P4501A1 and P4501A2. A plot of v vs. v/S was linear for 3-MX in the ISO-induced microsomes, but nonlinear for 1-MX, indicating that P4501A2 mainly forms 3-MX, whereas P4501A1 and 1A2 probably mediate 1-MX. A similar nonlinear relation was also obtained in the BP-induced microsomes. Incubation of theophylline in the microsomes from the cells indicated that only 1-MX could be measured in cells expressing P4501A1, and both 1-MX and 3-MX were formed in the P4501A2 cell microsomes. Therefore 1-MX seems to be mediated by P4501A1/P4501A2 and 3-MX specifically by P4501A2, and theophylline N-demethylations can be used as probes for P4501A1 and P4501A2.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗