Topical sustained drug delivery to the retina with a drug-eluting contact lens.

Intravitreal injections and implants are used to deliver drugs to the retina because therapeutic levels of these medications cannot be provided by topical administration (i.e. eye drops). In order to reach the retina, a topically applied drug encounters tear dilution, reflex blinking, and rapid fluid drainage that collectively reduce the drug's residence time on the ocular surface. Residing under the tears, the cornea is the primary gateway into the eye for many topical ophthalmic drugs. We hypothesized that a drug-eluting contact lens that rests on the cornea would therefore be well-suited for delivering drugs to the eye including the retina. We developed a contact lens based dexamethasone delivery system (Dex-DS) that achieved sustained drug delivery to the retina at therapeutic levels. Dex-DS consists of a dexamethasone-polymer film encapsulated inside a contact lens. Rabbits wearing Dex-DS achieved retinal drug concentrations that were 200 times greater than those from intensive (hourly) dexamethasone drops. Conversely, Dex-DS demonstrated lower systemic (blood serum) dexamethasone concentrations. In an efficacy study in rabbits, Dex-DS successfully inhibited retinal vascular leakage induced by intravitreal injection of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Dex-DS was found to be safe in a four-week repeated dose biocompatibility study in healthy rabbits.

N6-Formyllysine as a Biomarker of Formaldehyde Exposure: Formation and Loss of N6-Formyllysine in Nasal Epithelium in Long-Term, Low-Dose Inhalation Studies in Rats.

Exposure to both endogenous and exogenous formaldehyde has been established to be carcinogenic, likely by virtue of forming nucleic acid and proteins adducts such as N6-formyllysine. To better assess N6-formyllysine as a biomarker of formaldehyde exposure, we studied accumulation of N6-formyllysine adducts in tissues of rats exposed by inhalation to 2 ppm [13C2H2]-formaldehyde for 7, 14, 21, and 28 days (6 h/day) and investigated adduct loss over a 7-day postexposure period using liquid chromatography-coupled tandem mass spectrometry. Our results showed formation of exogenous adducts in nasal epithelium and to some extent in trachea but not in distant tissues of lung, bone marrow, or white blood cells, with a 2-fold increase over endogenous N6-formyllysine over a 3-week exposure period. Postexposure analyses indicated a biexponential decay of N6-formyllysine in proteins extracted from different cellular compartments, with half-lives of ∼25 and ∼182 h for the fast and slow phases, respectively, in cytoplasmic proteins. These results parallel the behavior of DNA adducts and DNA-protein cross-links, with protein adducts cleared faster than DNA-protein cross-links, and point to the potential utility of N6-formyllysine protein adducts as biomarkers of formaldehyde.

Structural elements of an NRPS cyclization domain and its intermodule docking domain.

Epothilones are thiazole-containing natural products with anticancer activity that are biosynthesized by polyketide synthase (PKS)-nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) enzymes EpoA-F. A cyclization domain of EpoB (Cy) assembles the thiazole functionality from an acetyl group and l-cysteine via condensation, cyclization, and dehydration. The PKS carrier protein of EpoA contributes the acetyl moiety, guided by a docking domain, whereas an NRPS EpoB carrier protein contributes l-cysteine. To visualize the structure of a cyclization domain with an accompanying docking domain, we solved a 2.03-Å resolution structure of this bidomain EpoB unit, comprising residues M1-Q497 (62 kDa) of the 160-kDa EpoB protein. We find that the N-terminal docking domain is connected to the V-shaped Cy domain by a 20-residue linker but otherwise makes no contacts to Cy. Molecular dynamic simulations and additional crystal structures reveal a high degree of flexibility for this docking domain, emphasizing the modular nature of the components of PKS-NRPS hybrid systems. These structures further reveal two 20-Å-long channels that run from distant sites on the Cy domain to the active site at the core of the enzyme, allowing two carrier proteins to dock with Cy and deliver their substrates simultaneously. Through mutagenesis and activity assays, catalytic residues N335 and D449 have been identified. Surprisingly, these residues do not map to the location of the conserved HHxxxDG motif in the structurally homologous NRPS condensation (C) domain. Thus, although both C and Cy domains have the same basic fold, their active sites appear distinct.

Metabolic fate of endogenous molecular damage: Urinary glutathione conjugates of DNA-derived base propenals as markers of inflammation.

Although mechanistically linked to disease, cellular molecules damaged by endogenous processes have not emerged as significant biomarkers of inflammation and disease risk, due in part to poor understanding of their pharmacokinetic fate from tissue to excretion. Here, we use systematic metabolite profiling to define the fate of a common DNA oxidation product, base propenals, to discover such a biomarker. Based on known chemical reactivity and metabolism in liver cell extracts, 15 candidate metabolites were identified for liquid chromatography-coupled tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) quantification in urine and bile of rats treated with thymine propenal (Tp). Analysis of urine revealed three metabolites (6% of Tp dose): thymine propenoate and two mercapturate derivatives of glutathione conjugates. Bile contained an additional four metabolites (22% of Tp dose): cysteinylglycine and cysteine derivatives of glutathione adducts. A bis-mercapturate was observed in urine of untreated rats and increased approximately three- to fourfold following CCl4-induced oxidative stress or treatment with the DNA-cleaving antitumor agent, bleomycin. Systematic metabolite profiling thus provides evidence for a metabolized DNA damage product as a candidate biomarker of inflammation and oxidative stress in humans.

Dosimetry of N6-formyllysine adducts following [¹³C²H2]-formaldehyde exposures in rats.

With formaldehyde as the major source of endogenous N6-formyllysine protein adducts, we quantified endogenous and exogenous N6-formyllysine in the nasal epithelium of rats exposed by inhalation to 0.7, 2, 5.8, and 9.1 ppm [¹³C²H2]-formaldehyde using liquid chromatography-coupled tandem mass spectrometry. Exogenous N6-formyllysine was detected in the nasal epithelium, with concentration-dependent formation in total as well as fractionated (cytoplasmic, membrane, nuclear) proteins, but was not detected in the lung, liver, or bone marrow. Endogenous adducts dominated at all exposure conditions, with a 6 h 9.1 ppm formaldehyde exposure resulting in one-third of the total load of N6-formyllysine being derived from exogenous sources. The results parallel previous studies of formaldehyde-induced DNA adducts.

Quantitative analysis of histone modifications: formaldehyde is a source of pathological n(6)-formyllysine that is refractory to histone deacetylases.

Aberrant protein modifications play an important role in the pathophysiology of many human diseases, in terms of both dysfunction of physiological modifications and the formation of pathological modifications by reaction of proteins with endogenous electrophiles. Recent studies have identified a chemical homolog of lysine acetylation, N(6)-formyllysine, as an abundant modification of histone and chromatin proteins, one possible source of which is the reaction of lysine with 3'-formylphosphate residues from DNA oxidation. Using a new liquid chromatography-coupled to tandem mass spectrometry method to quantify all N(6)-methyl-, -acetyl- and -formyl-lysine modifications, we now report that endogenous formaldehyde is a major source of N(6)-formyllysine and that this adduct is widespread among cellular proteins in all compartments. N(6)-formyllysine was evenly distributed among different classes of histone proteins from human TK6 cells at 1-4 modifications per 10(4) lysines, which contrasted strongly with lysine acetylation and mono-, di-, and tri-methylation levels of 1.5-380, 5-870, 0-1400, and 0-390 per 10(4) lysines, respectively. While isotope labeling studies revealed that lysine demethylation is not a source of N(6)-formyllysine in histones, formaldehyde exposure was observed to cause a dose-dependent increase in N(6)-formyllysine, with use of [(13)C,(2)H2]-formaldehyde revealing unchanged levels of adducts derived from endogenous sources. Inhibitors of class I and class II histone deacetylases did not affect the levels of N(6)-formyllysine in TK6 cells, and the class III histone deacetylase, SIRT1, had minimal activity (<10%) with a peptide substrate containing the formyl adduct. These data suggest that N(6)-formyllysine is refractory to removal by histone deacetylases, which supports the idea that this abundant protein modification could interfere with normal regulation of gene expression if it arises at conserved sites of physiological protein secondary modification.

Comparative analysis of four oxidized guanine lesions from reactions of DNA with peroxynitrite, singlet oxygen, and γ-radiation.

Oxidative damage to DNA has many origins, including irradiation, inflammation, and oxidative stress, but the chemistries are not the same. The most oxidizable base in DNA is 2-deoxyguanosine (dG), and the primary oxidation products are 8-oxodG and 2-amino-imidazolone. The latter rapidly converts to 2,2-diamino-oxazolone (Ox), and 8-oxodG is further oxidized to spiroiminodihydantoin (Sp) and guanidinohydantoin (Gh). In this study, we have examined the dose-response relationship for the formation of the above four products arising in calf thymus DNA exposed to gamma irradiation, photoactivated rose bengal, and two sources of peroxynitrite. In order to carry out these experiments, we developed a chromatographic system and synthesized isotopomeric internal standards to enable accurate and precise analysis based upon selected reaction monitoring mass spectrometry. 8-OxodG was the most abundant products in all cases, but its accumulation was highly dependent on the nature of the oxidizing agent and the subsequent conversion to Sp and Gh. Among the other oxidation products, Ox was the most abundant, and Sp was formed in significantly greater yield than Gh.

In situ analysis of 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine oxidation reveals sequence- and agent-specific damage spectra.

Guanine is a major target for oxidation in DNA, with 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG) as a major product. 8-oxodG is itself significantly more susceptible to oxidation than guanine, with the resulting damage consisting of more than 10 different products. This complexity has hampered efforts to understand the determinants of biologically relevant DNA oxidation chemistry. To address this problem, we have developed a high mass accuracy mass spectrometric method to quantify oxidation products arising site specifically in DNA. We applied this method to quantify the role of sequence context in defining the spectrum of damage products arising from oxidation of 8-oxodG by two oxidants: nitrosoperoxycarbonate (ONOOCO(2)(-)), a macrophage-derived chemical mediator of inflammation, and the classical one-electron oxidant, riboflavin-mediated photooxidation. The results reveal the predominance of dehydroguanidinohydantoin (DGh) in 8-oxodG oxidation by both oxidants. While the relative quantities of 8-oxodG oxidation products arising from ONOOCO(2)(-) did not vary as a function of sequence context, products of riboflavin-mediated photooxidation of 8-oxodG were highly sequence dependent. Several of the 8-oxodG oxidation products underwent hydrolytic conversion to new products with half-lives of 2-7 h. The results have implications for understanding the chemistry of DNA oxidation and the biological response to the damage, with DNA damage recognition and repair systems faced with a complex and dynamic set of damage targets.

Infection-induced colitis in mice causes dynamic and tissue-specific changes in stress response and DNA damage leading to colon cancer.

Helicobacter hepaticus-infected Rag2(-/-) mice emulate many aspects of human inflammatory bowel disease, including the development of colitis and colon cancer. To elucidate mechanisms of inflammation-induced carcinogenesis, we undertook a comprehensive analysis of histopathology, molecular damage, and gene expression changes during disease progression in these mice. Infected mice developed severe colitis and hepatitis by 10 wk post-infection, progressing into colon carcinoma by 20 wk post-infection, with pronounced pathology in the cecum and proximal colon marked by infiltration of neutrophils and macrophages. Transcriptional profiling revealed decreased expression of DNA repair and oxidative stress response genes in colon, but not in liver. Mass spectrometric analysis revealed higher levels of DNA and RNA damage products in liver compared to colon and infection-induced increases in 5-chlorocytosine in DNA and RNA and hypoxanthine in DNA. Paradoxically, infection was associated with decreased levels of DNA etheno adducts. Levels of nucleic acid damage from the same chemical class were strongly correlated in both liver and colon. The results support a model of inflammation-mediated carcinogenesis involving infiltration of phagocytes and generation of reactive species that cause local molecular damage leading to cell dysfunction, mutation, and cell death. There are strong correlations among histopathology, phagocyte infiltration, and damage chemistry that suggest a major role for neutrophils in inflammation-associated cancer progression. Further, paradoxical changes in nucleic acid damage were observed in tissue- and chemistry-specific patterns. The results also reveal features of cell stress response that point to microbial pathophysiology and mechanisms of cell senescence as important mechanistic links to cancer.

DNA repair is indispensable for survival after acute inflammation.

More than 15% of cancer deaths worldwide are associated with underlying infections or inflammatory conditions, therefore understanding how inflammation contributes to cancer etiology is important for both cancer prevention and treatment. Inflamed tissues are known to harbor elevated etheno-base (ε-base) DNA lesions induced by the lipid peroxidation that is stimulated by reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) released from activated neutrophils and macrophages. Inflammation contributes to carcinogenesis in part via RONS-induced cytotoxic and mutagenic DNA lesions, including ε-base lesions. The mouse alkyl adenine DNA glycosylase (AAG, also known as MPG) recognizes such base lesions, thus protecting against inflammation-associated colon cancer. Two other DNA repair enzymes are known to repair ε-base lesions, namely ALKBH2 and ALKBH3; thus, we sought to determine whether these DNA dioxygenase enzymes could protect against chronic inflammation-mediated colon carcinogenesis. Using established chemically induced colitis and colon cancer models in mice, we show here that ALKBH2 and ALKBH3 provide cancer protection similar to that of the DNA glycosylase AAG. Moreover, Alkbh2 and Alkbh3 each display apparent epistasis with Aag. Surprisingly, deficiency in all 3 DNA repair enzymes confers a massively synergistic phenotype, such that animals lacking all 3 DNA repair enzymes cannot survive even a single bout of chemically induced colitis.

Defects in purine nucleotide metabolism lead to substantial incorporation of xanthine and hypoxanthine into DNA and RNA.

Deamination of nucleobases in DNA and RNA results in the formation of xanthine (X), hypoxanthine (I), oxanine, and uracil, all of which are miscoding and mutagenic in DNA and can interfere with RNA editing and function. Among many forms of nucleic acid damage, deamination arises from several unrelated mechanisms, including hydrolysis, nitrosative chemistry, and deaminase enzymes. Here we present a fourth mechanism contributing to the burden of nucleobase deamination: incorporation of hypoxanthine and xanthine into DNA and RNA caused by defects in purine nucleotide metabolism. Using Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae with defined mutations in purine metabolism in conjunction with analytical methods for quantifying deaminated nucleobases in DNA and RNA, we observed large increases (up to 600-fold) in hypoxanthine in both DNA and RNA in cells unable to convert IMP to XMP or AMP (IMP dehydrogenase, guaB; adenylosuccinate synthetase, purA, and ADE12), and unable to remove dITP/ITP and dXTP/XTP from the nucleotide pool (dITP/XTP pyrophosphohydrolase, rdgB and HAM1). Conversely, modest changes in xanthine levels were observed in RNA (but not DNA) from E. coli lacking purA and rdgB and the enzyme converting XMP to GMP (GMP synthetase, guaA). These observations suggest that disturbances in purine metabolism caused by known genetic polymorphisms could increase the burden of mutagenic deaminated nucleobases in DNA and interfere with gene expression and RNA function, a situation possibly exacerbated by the nitrosative stress of concurrent inflammation. The results also suggest a mechanistic basis for the pathophysiology of human inborn errors of purine nucleotide metabolism.

Sequence-dependent variation in the reactivity of 8-Oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine toward oxidation.

The goal of this study was to define the effect of DNA sequence on the reactivity of 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG) toward oxidation. To this end, we developed a quadrupole/time-of-flight (QTOF) mass spectrometric method to quantify the reactivity of site specifically modified oligodeoxyribonucleotides with two model oxidants: nitrosoperoxycarbonate (ONOOCO(2)(-)), a chemical mediator of inflammation, and photoactivated riboflavin, a classical one-electron oxidant widely studied in mutagenesis and charge transport in DNA. In contrast to previous observations with guanine [ Margolin , Y. , ( 2006 ) Nat. Chem. Biol. 2 , 365 ], sequence context did not affect the reactivity of ONOOCO(2)(-) with 8-oxodG, but photosensitized riboflavin showed a strong sequence preference in its reactivity with the following order (8-oxodG = O): COA ≈ AOG > GOG ≥ COT > TOC > AOC. That the COA context was the most reactive was unexpected and suggests a new sequence context where mutation hotspots might occur. These results point to both sequence- and agent-specific effects on 8-oxodG oxidation.

DNA phosphorothioation is widespread and quantized in bacterial genomes.

Phosphorothioate (PT) modification of DNA, with sulfur replacing a nonbridging phosphate oxygen, was recently discovered as a product of the dnd genes found in bacteria and archaea. Given our limited understanding of the biological function of PT modifications, including sequence context, genomic frequencies, and relationships to the diversity of dnd gene clusters, we undertook a quantitative study of PT modifications in prokaryotic genomes using a liquid chromatography-coupled tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry approach. The results revealed a diversity of unique PT sequence contexts and three discrete genomic frequencies in a wide range of bacteria. Metagenomic analyses of PT modifications revealed unique ecological distributions, and a phylogenetic comparison of dnd genes and PT sequence contexts strongly supports the horizontal transfer of dnd genes. These results are consistent with the involvement of PT modifications in a type of restriction-modification system with wide distribution in prokaryotes.

A quantitative systems approach reveals dynamic control of tRNA modifications during cellular stress.

Decades of study have revealed more than 100 ribonucleoside structures incorporated as post-transcriptional modifications mainly in tRNA and rRNA, yet the larger functional dynamics of this conserved system are unclear. To this end, we developed a highly precise mass spectrometric method to quantify tRNA modifications in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Our approach revealed several novel biosynthetic pathways for RNA modifications and led to the discovery of signature changes in the spectrum of tRNA modifications in the damage response to mechanistically different toxicants. This is illustrated with the RNA modifications Cm, m(5)C, and m(2) (2)G, which increase following hydrogen peroxide exposure but decrease or are unaffected by exposure to methylmethane sulfonate, arsenite, and hypochlorite. Cytotoxic hypersensitivity to hydrogen peroxide is conferred by loss of enzymes catalyzing the formation of Cm, m(5)C, and m(2) (2)G, which demonstrates that tRNA modifications are critical features of the cellular stress response. The results of our study support a general model of dynamic control of tRNA modifications in cellular response pathways and add to the growing repertoire of mechanisms controlling translational responses in cells.

Quantification of the 2-deoxyribonolactone and nucleoside 5'-aldehyde products of 2-deoxyribose oxidation in DNA and cells by isotope-dilution gas chromatography mass spectrometry: differential effects of gamma-radiation and Fe2+-EDTA.

The oxidation of 2-deoxyribose in DNA has emerged as a critical determinant of the cellular toxicity of oxidative damage to DNA, with oxidation of each carbon producing a unique spectrum of electrophilic products. We have developed and validated an isotope-dilution gas chromatography-coupled mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method for the rigorous quantification of two major 2-deoxyribose oxidation products: the 2-deoxyribonolactone abasic site of 1'-oxidation and the nucleoside 5'-aldehyde of 5'-oxidation chemistry. The method entails elimination of these products as 5-methylene-2(5H)-furanone (5MF) and furfural, respectively, followed by derivatization with pentafluorophenylhydrazine (PFPH), addition of isotopically labeled PFPH derivatives as internal standards, extraction of the derivatives, and quantification by GC-MS analysis. The precision and accuracy of the method were validated with oligodeoxynucleotides containing the 2-deoxyribonolactone and nucleoside 5'-aldehyde lesions. Further, the well-defined 2-deoxyribose oxidation chemistry of the enediyne antibiotics, neocarzinostatin and calicheamicin gamma(1)(I), was exploited in control studies, with neocarzinostatin producing 10 2-deoxyribonolactone and 300 nucleoside 5'-aldehyde per 10(6) nt per microM in accord with its established minor 1'- and major 5'-oxidation chemistry. Calicheamicin unexpectedly caused 1'-oxidation at a low level of 10 2-deoxyribonolactone per 10(6) nt per microM in addition to the expected predominance of 5'-oxidation at 560 nucleoside 5'-aldehyde per 10(6) nt per microM. The two hydroxyl radical-mediated DNA oxidants, gamma-radiation and Fe(2+)-EDTA, produced nucleoside 5'-aldehyde at a frequency of 57 per 10(6) nt per Gy (G-value 74 nmol/J) and 3.5 per 10(6) nt per microM, respectively, which amounted to 40% and 35%, respectively, of total 2-deoxyribose oxidation as measured by a plasmid nicking assay. However, gamma-radiation and Fe(2+)-EDTA produced different proportions of 2-deoxyribonolactone at 7% and 24% of total 2-deoxyribose oxidation, respectively, with frequencies of 10 lesions per 10(6) nt per Gy (G-value, 13 nmol/J) and 2.4 lesions per 10(6) nt per microM. Studies in TK6 human lymphoblastoid cells, in which the analytical data were corrected for losses sustained during DNA isolation, revealed background levels of 2-deoxyribonolactone and nucleoside 5'-aldehyde of 9.7 and 73 lesions per 10(6) nt, respectively. Gamma-irradiation of the cells caused increases of 0.045 and 0.22 lesions per 10(6) nt per Gy, respectively, which represents a approximately 250-fold quenching effect of the cellular environment similar to that observed in previous studies. The proportions of the various 2-deoxyribose oxidation products generated by gamma-radiation are similar for purified DNA and cells. These results are consistent with solvent exposure as a major determinant of hydroxyl radical reactivity with 2-deoxyribose in DNA, but the large differences between gamma-radiation and Fe(2+)-EDTA suggest that factors other than hydroxyl radical reactivity govern DNA oxidation chemistry.

Quantification of DNA damage products resulting from deamination, oxidation and reaction with products of lipid peroxidation by liquid chromatography isotope dilution tandem mass spectrometry.

The analysis of damage products as biomarkers of inflammation has been hampered by a poor understanding of the chemical biology of inflammation, the lack of sensitive analytical methods and a focus on single chemicals as surrogates for inflammation. To overcome these problems, we developed a general and sensitive liquid chromatographic tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS-MS) method to quantify, in a single DNA sample, the nucleoside forms of seven DNA lesions reflecting the range of chemistries associated with inflammation: 2'-deoxyuridine, 2'-deoxyxanthosine and 2'-deoxyinosine from nitrosative deamination; 8-oxo-2'-deoxyguanosine from oxidation; and 1,N(2)-etheno-2'-deoxyguanosine, 1,N(6)-etheno-2'-deoxyadenosine and 3,N(4)-etheno-2'-deoxycytidine arising from reaction of DNA with lipid peroxidation products. Using DNA purified from cells or tissues under conditions that minimize artifacts, individual nucleosides are purified by HPLC and quantified by isotope-dilution, electrospray ionization LC/MS-MS. The method can be applied to other DNA damage products and requires 4-6 d to complete depending upon the number of samples.

Surveying the damage: the challenges of developing nucleic acid biomarkers of inflammation.

Epidemiological evidence points to a cause and effect relationship between chronic inflammation and human maladies such as cancer, atherosclerosis and autoimmune disease. A critical link between inflammation and disease may lie in the secretion of highly reactive oxygen and nitrogen species by macrophages and neutrophils, including hypohalous acids, nitrous anhydride, and nitrosoperoxycarbonate. Exposure of host epithelial cells to the resulting oxidation, nitration, nitrosation and halogenation chemistries leads to damage of all types of cellular molecules. Since nucleic acids sustain damage representative of the full spectrum of different chemistries and the damage likely plays a causative role in disease etiology, DNA and RNA damage products can serve as surrogates for the short-lived chemical mediators of inflammation, and as markers that provide both mechanistic understanding of the disease process and a means to quantify risk of disease. However, the very small quantities of the damaged molecules pose a challenge to the simultaneous quantification of the spectrum of lesions in the manner of proteomics or metabolomics. The goal of this Highlight is to provide an update on the chemistry of inflammation and the development of biomarkers of inflammation in the age of -omics technologies.

Sex hormone influence on hepatitis in young male A/JCr mice infected with Helicobacter hepaticus.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV), the leading cause of human hepatocellular carcinoma, is especially virulent in males infected at an early age. Likewise, the murine liver carcinogen Helicobacter hepaticus is most pathogenic in male mice infected before puberty. We used this model to investigate the influence of male sex hormone signaling on infectious hepatitis. Male A/JCr mice were infected with H. hepaticus or vehicle at 4 weeks and randomized into surgical and pharmacologic treatment groups. Interruption of androgen pathways was confirmed by hormone measurements, histopathology, and liver gene and Cyp4a protein expression. Castrated males and those receiving the competitive androgen receptor antagonist flutamide had significantly less severe hepatitis as determined by histologic activity index than intact controls at 4 months. Importantly, the powerful androgen receptor agonist dihydrotestosterone did not promote hepatitis. No effect on hepatitis was evident in males treated with the 5alpha-reductase inhibitor dutasteride, the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha agonist bezafibrate, or the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug flufenamic acid. Consistent with previous observations of hepatitis-associated liver-gender disruption, transcriptional alterations involved both feminine (cytochrome P450 4a14) and masculine (cytochrome P450 4a12 and trefoil factor 3) genes, as well gender-neutral (H19 fetal liver mRNA, lipocalin 2, and ubiquitin D) genes. Hepatitis was associated with increased unsaturated C(18) long-chain fatty acids (oleic acid and linoleic acid) relative to saturated stearic acid. Our results indicate that certain forms of androgen interruption can inhibit H. hepaticus-induced hepatitis in young male mice, whereas androgen receptor agonism does not worsen disease. This raises the possibility of targeted hormonal therapy in young male patients with childhood-acquired HBV.

Hepatocellular carcinoma associated with liver-gender disruption in male mice.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a male-predominant cancer associated with chronic hepatitis. Like human viral hepatitis, murine Helicobacter hepaticus infection produces inflammation and HCC with a masculine bias. We used this model to identify potential mechanisms of male HCC predisposition. Male weanling A/JCr mice (n = 67) were gavaged with H. hepaticus or vehicle. At 1 year, mice were distributed into four groups: surgical castration, chemical castration, castration followed by dihydrotestosterone supplementation, or sexually intact controls. Responses to infection were compared with IFN-gamma challenge alone. At 21 months, there was no significant difference in hepatitis between groups. Neither castration nor androgen receptor agonism altered tumor incidence. Infected mice with severe, but not mild, disease exhibited a mosaic of alterations to sexually dimorphic genes and microsomal long-chain fatty acids. By microarray, tumorigenic hepatitis was strongly associated with liver-gender disruption, defined as the loss of a gender-identifying hepatic molecular signature. IFN-gamma alone produced similar changes, demonstrating a role for proinflammatory cytokines in this process. In conclusion, hepatocarcinogenesis in male mice with chronic hepatitis is maturationally imprinted and androgen-independent. Proinflammatory cytokines may promote HCC in a male-predominant fashion due to high sensitivity of the masculinized liver to loss of sex-specific transcriptional balance. Liver-gender disruption has pleiotropic implications for hepatic enzyme activity, lipid processing, nuclear receptor activation, apoptosis, and proliferation. We propose a multistep model linking chronic hepatitis to liver cancer through cytokine-mediated derangement of gender-specific cellular metabolism. This model introduces a novel mechanism of inflammation-associated carcinogenesis consistent with male-predominant HCC risk.

Phosphorothioation of DNA in bacteria by dnd genes.

Modifications of the canonical structures of DNA and RNA play critical roles in cell physiology, DNA replication, transcription and translation in all organisms. We now report that bacterial dnd gene clusters incorporate sulfur into the DNA backbone as a sequence-selective, stereospecific phosphorothioate modification. To our knowledge, unlike any other DNA or RNA modification systems, DNA phosphorothioation by dnd gene clusters is the first physiological modification described on the DNA backbone.