Characterization of the transcriptional profile in primary astrocytes after oxidative stress induced by Paraquat.

In the central nervous system oxidative stress has been implicated in the pathology of several neurological disorders. The ability to withstand reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress are essential for survival and therefore all aerobic cells are endowed with chemical and enzymatic antioxidative defense systems. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the antioxidative response at the transcriptional level following exposure of primary astrocytes to a pro-oxidant, Paraquat (PQ). This was done by investigating the time-dependent expression of selected genes encoding the antioxidative enzymes Mn- and CuZn superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase as well as the transcription factor component AP-1. Paraquat induced the expression of Mn- and CuZn SOD, catalase and decreases the expression of c-jun (a part of AP-1). Furthermore, the gene expression profiles were investigated after exposure to PQ using a commercial cDNA membrane array containing 207 genes from key oxidative stress pathways. The gene expression pattern clearly indicated that 60 microM PQ for 48 h induces genes related to oxidative stress, detoxification, mitotic arrest, DNA repair, and apoptosis. The PQ (48 h)-induced expressions of genes identified in cDNA array were confirmed by Northern blot analysis, which revealed a statistical significant up-regulation of genes involved in oxidative stress, detoxification, and DNA repair/synthesis and includes heme oxygenase-1 (11-fold), NAD(P)H dehydrogenase (8-fold), glutathione S-transferase P (7-fold), glucose-regulated 78-kDa protein (7-fold), glucose-regulated 75-kDa protein (6-fold), and growth-arrest and DNA-damage-inducible protein 45 (4.5-fold) and minor changes for heat shock 10-kDa protein, NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase, heme oxygenase-2, proliferating cell nuclear antigen, and Bcl-2-associated death promoter. Thus, we could demonstrate a PQ-inducible effect of the mRNA of antioxidative enzymes, as well as the mRNAs of possible enzymes involved in the protection against oxidative stress.

Chemical tests as alternatives to animal tests in research on late symptoms in diabetes.

Glycation reactions, such as those seen in late diabetes, can be mimicked in purely chemical systems. The glycation is time-dependent, and in in vitro systems it can continue for days. Ascorbate seems to enhance the reactions. The reactions are associated with free-radical formation through transformation of an Amadori product to (deoxy-)glycoson, catalysed by heavy metals. Ascorbate enhances the reaction by a factor of 5-10 compared with in vitro systems without ascorbate. In vitro systems containing bovine serum albumin retard the formation of free-radicals, because of the formation of advanced glycation products.

Development of an in vitro test battery for the estimation of acute human systemic toxicity: An outline of the EDIT project. Evaluation-guided Development of New In Vitro Test Batteries.

The aim of the Evaluation-guided Development of new In Vitro Test Batteries (EDIT) multicentre programme is to establish and validate in vitro tests relevant to toxicokinetics and for organ-specific toxicity, to be incorporated into optimal test batteries for the estimation of human acute systemic toxicity. The scientific basis of EDIT is the good prediction of human acute toxicity obtained with three human cell line tests (R(2) = 0.77), in the Multicentre Evaluation of In Vitro Cytotoxicity (MEIC) programme. However, the results from the MEIC study indicated that at least two other types of in vitro test ought to be added to the existing test battery to improve the prediction of human acute systemic toxicity - to determine key kinetic events (such as biotransformation and passage through biological barriers), and to predict crucial organ-specific mechanisms not covered by the tests in the MEIC battery. The EDIT programme will be a case-by-case project, but the establishment and validation of new tests will be carried through by a common, step-wise procedure. The Scientific Committee of the EDIT programme defines the need for a specific set of toxicity or toxicokinetic data. Laboratories are then invited to perform the defined tests in order to provide the "missing" data for the EDIT reference chemicals. The results obtained will be evaluated against the MEMO (the MEIC Monograph programme) database, i.e. against human acute systemic lethal and toxicity data. The aim of the round-table discussions at the 19th Scandinavian Society for Cell Toxicology (SSCT) workshop, held in Ringsted, Denmark on 6-9 September 2001, was to identify which tests are the most important for inclusion in the MEIC battery, i.e. which types of tests the EDIT programme should focus on. It was proposed that it is important to include in vitro methods for various kinetic events, such as biotransformation, absorption in the gut, passage across the blood-brain barrier, distribution volumes, protein binding, and renal clearance/accumulation. Models for target organ toxicity were also discussed. Because several of the outlier chemicals (paracetamol, digoxin, malathion, nicotine, paraquat, atropine and potassium cyanide) in the MEIC in vivo-in vitro evaluation have a neurotoxic potential, it was proposed that the development within the EDIT target organ programme should initially be focused on the nervous system.