Rare Variants of the Serotonin Transporter Are Associated With Psychiatric Comorbidity in Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Alterations in serotonin signaling are suspected in the pathophysiology of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). By modulating the extracellular reuptake of serotonin, the serotonin transporter (SERT) acts as a key regulator of the bioavailability of serotonin. This study is the first to investigate the impact of rare SERT variants (i.e., those with a minor allele frequency of < 1%) on the risk for IBS, gastrointestinal (GI) symptom level, response to cognitive-behavioral treatment, and psychiatric comorbidity. We sequenced a 0.19 megabase chromosomal stretch containing the SERT gene and surrounding regions in a community sample of 304 IBS patients and 83 controls. We found no significant associations between rare variants in and around the SERT gene and IBS risk, GI symptom profile, or response to treatment. We found preliminary evidence, however, that IBS subjects with a history of either depression or anxiety were significantly more likely to carry multiple rare likely functional variant alleles than IBS patients without psychiatric comorbidity.

Sulforaphane- and phenethyl isothiocyanate-induced inhibition of aflatoxin B1-mediated genotoxicity in human hepatocytes: role of GSTM1 genotype and CYP3A4 gene expression.

Primary cultures of human hepatocytes were used to investigate whether the dietary isothiocyanates, sulforaphane (SFN), and phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) can reduce DNA adduct formation of the hepatocarcinogen aflatoxin B(1) (AFB). Following 48 h of pretreatment, 10 and 50 microM SFN greatly decreased AFB-DNA adduct levels, whereas 25muM PEITC decreased AFB-DNA adducts in some but not all hepatocyte preparations. Microarray and quantitative reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR analyses of gene expression in SFN and PEITC-treated hepatocytes demonstrated that SFN greatly decreased cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4 mRNA but did not induce the expression of either glutathione S-transferase (GST) M1 or GSTT1. The protective effects of SFN required pretreatment; cotreatment of hepatocytes with SFN and AFB in the absence of pretreatment had no effect on AFB-DNA adduct formation. When AFB-DNA adduct formation was evaluated by GST genotype, the presence of one or two functional alleles of GSTM1 was associated with a 75% reduction in AFB-DNA adducts, compared with GSTM1 null. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that the inhibition of AFB-DNA adduct formation by SFN is dependent on changes in gene expression rather than direct inhibition of catalytic activity. Transcriptional repression of genes involved in AFB bioactivation (CYP3A4 and CYP1A2), but not transcriptional activation of GSTs, may be responsible for the protective effects of SFN. Although GSTM1 expression was not induced by SFN, the presence of a functional GSTM1 allele can afford substantial protection against AFB-DNA damage in human liver. The downregulation of CYP3A4 by SFN may have important implications for drug interactions.

Modulation of aflatoxin B1-mediated genotoxicity in primary cultures of human hepatocytes by diindolylmethane, curcumin, and xanthohumols.

This study employed cultured human primary hepatocytes to investigate the ability of the putative chemopreventive phytochemicals curcumin (CUR), 3,3'-diindolylmethane (DIM), isoxanthohumol (IXN), or 8-prenylnaringenin (8PN) to reduce DNA adduct formation of the hepatocarcinogen aflatoxin B1 (AFB). Following 48 h of pretreatment, DIM and 8PN significantly increased AFB-DNA adduct levels, whereas CUR and IXN had no effect. DIM greatly enhanced the transcriptional expression of cytochrome P450 (CYP) 1A1 and CYP1A2 mRNA. Glutathione S-transferase mRNAs were not increased by any of the treatments. In vitro enzyme activity assays demonstrated that 8PN and DIM, but not CUR or IXN, inhibited human CYP1A1, CYP1A2, and CYP3A4 activities. To distinguish between treatment effects on transcription versus direct effects on enzyme activity for DIM, we evaluated the effects of pretreatment alone (transcriptional activation) versus cotreatment alone (enzyme inhibition). The results demonstrated that effects on gene expression, but not catalytic activity, are responsible for the observed effects of DIM on AFB-DNA adduct formation. The increase in AFB-DNA damage following DIM treatment may be explained through its substantial induction of CYP1A2 and/or its downregulation of GSTM1, both of which were significant. The increase in DNA damage by DIM raises potential safety risks for dietary supplements of DIM and its precursor indole-3-carbinol.