Project description:Male and female CD-1 mice were administered dietary Phenobarbital for 2 or 7 days. In-life, enzyme activity, cell proliferation, genomic analysis, and Bench-mark dose modeling was carried out. The goal was to exmaine low-dose PB effects on early key events in CAR-mediated hepatocarcinogenesis. PB at 0, 0.15, 1.5, 15, 75, or 150 mg/kg-day for 2 or 7 days to characterize multiple apical and molecular endpoints.
Project description:Male and female CD-1 mice were administered dietary Phenobarbital for 2 or 7 days. In-life, enzyme activity, cell proliferation, genomic analysis, and Bench-mark dose modeling was carried out. The goal was to exmaine low-dose PB effects on early key events in CAR-mediated hepatocarcinogenesis.
Project description:The modes of triazole reproductive toxicity have been characterized by an observed increased in serum testosterone and reduced insemination and fertility indices. The key events involved in the disruption in testosterone homeostasis and reduced fertility remain unclear. Gene expression analysis was conducted on liver and testis from Wistar Han IGS rats fed myclobutanil (M: 500, 2000 ppm), propiconazole (P: 500, 2500 ppm), or triadimefon (T: 500, 1800 ppm) from gestation day six to postnatal day 92. Pathway-based analysis highlighted key biological processes affected by all three triazoles in the liver including fatty acid catabolism, steroid metabolism, and xenobiotic metabolism. Triadimefon induced a distinctive expression profile of genes involved in liver sterol biosynthesis. There were no common pathways modulated by all three triazoles in the testis. Within the pathways identified in the liver, specific genes involved in phase I-III metabolism (Aldh1a1, Cyp1a1, Cyp2b2, Cyp3a1, Slco1a4, Udpgtr2), fatty acid metabolism (Cyp4a10, Pc, Ppap2b), and steroid metabolism (Srd5a1, Ugt1a1, Ugt2a1) were affected by all three triazoles. These modulated genes are part of a network of lipid and testosterone homeostasis pathways regulated by the constitutive androstane (CAR) and pregnane X (PXR) receptors. Gene expression profiles from this study indicate triazoles activate CAR and PXR; increase fatty acid catabolism, sterol biosynthesis, and steroid metabolism in the liver; constituting a plausible series of key events contributing to the observed disruption in testosterone homeostasis. Experiment Overall Design: A total of 34 testis samples were analyzed. Seven biological replicates for control, 4 biological replicates for mid dose myclobutanil, 5 biological replicates for high dose myclobutanil, 4 biological replicates for mid dose propiconazole, 5 biological replicates for high dose propiconazole, 4 biological replicates for mid dose triadimefon, and 5 biological replicates for high dose triadimefon.
Project description:The modes of triazole reproductive toxicity have been characterized by an observed increased in serum testosterone and reduced insemination and fertility indices. The key events involved in the disruption in testosterone homeostasis and reduced fertility remain unclear. Gene expression analysis was conducted on liver and testis from Wistar Han IGS rats fed myclobutanil (M: 500, 2000 ppm), propiconazole (P: 500, 2500 ppm), or triadimefon (T: 500, 1800 ppm) from gestation day six to postnatal day 92. Pathway-based analysis highlighted key biological processes affected by all three triazoles in the liver including fatty acid catabolism, steroid metabolism, and xenobiotic metabolism. Triadimefon induced a distinctive expression profile of genes involved in liver sterol biosynthesis. There were no common pathways modulated by all three triazoles in the testis. Within the pathways identified in the liver, specific genes involved in phase I-III metabolism (Aldh1a1, Cyp1a1, Cyp2b2, Cyp3a1, Slco1a4, Udpgtr2), fatty acid metabolism (Cyp4a10, Pc, Ppap2b), and steroid metabolism (Srd5a1, Ugt1a1, Ugt2a1) were affected by all three triazoles. These modulated genes are part of a network of lipid and testosterone homeostasis pathways regulated by the constitutive androstane (CAR) and pregnane X (PXR) receptors. Gene expression profiles from this study indicate triazoles activate CAR and PXR; increase fatty acid catabolism, sterol biosynthesis, and steroid metabolism in the liver; constituting a plausible series of key events contributing to the observed disruption in testosterone homeostasis. Experiment Overall Design: A total of 35 liver samples were analyzed. Seven biological replicates for the controls, 5 biological replicates for mid dose myclobutanil and 5 biological replicates for high dose mylcobutanil. There are 5 biological replicates for mid dose propiconazole, 4 biological replicates for high dose propiconazole, 5 biological replicates for mid dose triadimefon, and 4 biological replicates for triadimefon.
Project description:Studies on gene and/or microRNA (miRNA) dysregulation in the early stages of hepatocarcinogenesis are hampered by the difficulty of diagnosing early lesions in humans. Experimental models recapitulating human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are then entailed to perform this analysis. We performed miRNA and gene expression profiling to characterize the molecular events involved in the multistep process of hepatocarcinogenesis in the Resistant-Hepatocyte rat model. A high percentage of dysregulated miRNAs/genes in HCC were similarly altered in early preneoplastic lesions positive for the stem/progenitor cell marker cytokeratin-19, indicating that several HCC-associated alterations occur from the very beginning of the carcinogenic process. Our analysis also identified miRNA/gene-target networks aberrantly activated at the initial stage of hepatocarcinogenesis. Activation of the NRF2 pathway and up-regulation of the miR-200 family were among the most prominent changes. The relevance of these alterations in the development of HCC was confirmed by the observation that NRF2 silencing impaired while miR-200a overexpression promoted HCC cell proliferation in vitro. Moreover, T3-induced in vivo inhibition of the NRF2 pathway accompanied the regression of cytokeratin-19 positive nodules, suggesting that activation of this transcription factor contributes to the onset and progression of preneoplastic lesions towards malignancy. The finding that 78% of genes and 57% of dysregulated miRNAs in rat HCC have been previously associated to human HCC as well underlines the translational value of our results. Conclusions: this study indicates that most of the molecular changes found in HCC occur in the very early stages of hepatocarcinogenesis. Among these, the NRF2 pathway plays a relevant role and may represent a new therapeutic target. 20 nodules (10 weeks after initiation with DENA), 4 adenomas (10 months), 5 eHCCs (10 months) and 9 aHCCs (14 months) were dissected. 10 controls also included.
Project description:Studies on gene and/or microRNA (miRNA) dysregulation in the early stages of hepatocarcinogenesis are hampered by the difficulty of diagnosing early lesions in humans. Experimental models recapitulating human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are then entailed to perform this analysis. We performed miRNA and gene expression profiling to characterize the molecular events involved in the multistep process of hepatocarcinogenesis in the Resistant-Hepatocyte rat model. A high percentage of dysregulated miRNAs/genes in HCC were similarly altered in early preneoplastic lesions positive for the stem/progenitor cell marker cytokeratin-19, indicating that several HCC-associated alterations occur from the very beginning of the carcinogenic process. Our analysis also identified miRNA/gene-target networks aberrantly activated at the initial stage of hepatocarcinogenesis. Activation of the NRF2 pathway and up-regulation of the miR-200 family were among the most prominent changes. The relevance of these alterations in the development of HCC was confirmed by the observation that NRF2 silencing impaired while miR-200a overexpression promoted HCC cell proliferation in vitro. Moreover, T3-induced in vivo inhibition of the NRF2 pathway accompanied the regression of cytokeratin-19 positive nodules, suggesting that activation of this transcription factor contributes to the onset and progression of preneoplastic lesions towards malignancy. The finding that 78% of genes and 57% of dysregulated miRNAs in rat HCC have been previously associated to human HCC as well underlines the translational value of our results. Conclusions: this study indicates that most of the molecular changes found in HCC occur in the very early stages of hepatocarcinogenesis. Among these, the NRF2 pathway plays a relevant role and may represent a new therapeutic target.
Project description:The constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) and the pregnane X receptor (PXR) are closely related nuclear receptors involved in drug metabolism and play important roles in the mechanism of phenobarbital (PB)-induced rodent nongenotoxic hepatocarcino- genesis. Here, we have used a humanized CAR/PXR mouse model to examine potential species differences in receptor-dependent mechanisms underlying liver tissue molecular responses to PB. Early and late transcriptomic responses to sustained PB exposure were investigated in liver tissue from double knock-out CAR and PXR (CARKO -PXRKO ), double humanized CAR and PXR (CARh - PXRh), and wild-type C57BL/6 mice. Wild-type and CARh-PXRh mouse livers exhibited temporally and quantitatively similar tran- scriptional responses during 91 days of PB exposure including the sustained induction of the xenobiotic response gene Cyp2b10, the Wnt signaling inhibitor Wisp1, and noncoding RNA biomarkers from the Dlk1-Dio3 locus. Transient induction of DNA replication (Hells, Mcm6, and Esco2) and mitotic genes (Ccnb2, Cdc20, and Cdk1) and the proliferation-related nuclear antigen Mki67 were ob- served with peak expression occurring between 1 and 7 days PB ex- posure. All these transcriptional responses were absent in CARKO- PXRKO mouse livers and largely reversible in wild-type and CARh - PXRh mouse livers following 91 days of PB exposure and a subse- quent 4-week recovery period. Furthermore, PB-mediated upregu- lation of the noncoding RNA Meg3, which has recently been associ- ated with cellular pluripotency, exhibited a similar dose response and perivenous hepatocyte-specific localization in both wild-type and CARh-PXRh mice. Thus, mouse livers coexpressing human CAR and PXR support both the xenobiotic metabolizing and the proliferative transcriptional responses following exposure to PB. 13-week oral (drinking water) investigative phenobarbital study in male C57BL/6 wild type, CAR/PXR knockout and humanized CAR/PXR mice with a 4 week recovery period
Project description:The constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) and the pregnane X receptor (PXR) are closely related nuclear receptors involved in drug metabolism and play important roles in the mechanism of phenobarbital (PB)-induced rodent nongenotoxic hepatocarcino- genesis. Here, we have used a humanized CAR/PXR mouse model to examine potential species differences in receptor-dependent mechanisms underlying liver tissue molecular responses to PB. Early and late transcriptomic responses to sustained PB exposure were investigated in liver tissue from double knock-out CAR and PXR (CARKO -PXRKO ), double humanized CAR and PXR (CARh - PXRh), and wild-type C57BL/6 mice. Wild-type and CARh-PXRh mouse livers exhibited temporally and quantitatively similar tran- scriptional responses during 91 days of PB exposure including the sustained induction of the xenobiotic response gene Cyp2b10, the Wnt signaling inhibitor Wisp1, and noncoding RNA biomarkers from the Dlk1-Dio3 locus. Transient induction of DNA replication (Hells, Mcm6, and Esco2) and mitotic genes (Ccnb2, Cdc20, and Cdk1) and the proliferation-related nuclear antigen Mki67 were ob- served with peak expression occurring between 1 and 7 days PB ex- posure. All these transcriptional responses were absent in CARKO- PXRKO mouse livers and largely reversible in wild-type and CARh - PXRh mouse livers following 91 days of PB exposure and a subse- quent 4-week recovery period. Furthermore, PB-mediated upregu- lation of the noncoding RNA Meg3, which has recently been associ- ated with cellular pluripotency, exhibited a similar dose response and perivenous hepatocyte-specific localization in both wild-type and CARh-PXRh mice. Thus, mouse livers coexpressing human CAR and PXR support both the xenobiotic metabolizing and the proliferative transcriptional responses following exposure to PB. 13-week oral (drinking water) investigative phenobarbital study in male C57BL/6 wild type, CAR/PXR knockout and humanized CAR/PXR mice with a 4 week recovery period
Project description:To clarify the regulatory molecular mechanisms behind cell cycle aberrations related to the early stages of hepatocarcinogenesis. We investigated the early stage of hepatocarcinogenesis using global expression analyses.