Wnt/ß-Catenin Signaling Plays a Protective Role in the Mdr2 Knockout Murine Model of Cholestatic Liver Disease.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway has a well-described role in liver pathobiology. Its suppression was recently shown to decrease bile acid (BA) synthesis, thus preventing the development of cholestatic liver injury and fibrosis after bile duct ligation (BDL). APPROACH AND RESULTS: To generalize these observations, we suppressed ß-catenin in Mdr2 knockout (KO) mice, which develop sclerosing cholangitis due to regurgitation of BA from leaky ducts. When ß-catenin was knocked down (KD) in KO for 2 weeks, hepatic and biliary injury were exacerbated in comparison to KO given placebo, as shown by serum biochemistry, ductular reaction, inflammation, and fibrosis. Simultaneously, KO/KD livers displayed increased oxidative stress and senescence and an impaired regenerative response. Although the total liver BA levels were similar between KO/KD and KO, there was significant dysregulation of BA transporters and BA detoxification/synthesis enzymes in KO/KD compared with KO alone. Multiphoton intravital microscopy revealed a mixing of blood and bile in the sinusoids, and validated the presence of increased serum BA in KO/KD mice. Although hepatocyte junctions were intact, KO/KD livers had significant canalicular defects, which resulted from loss of hepatocyte polarity. Thus, in contrast to the protective effect of ß-catenin KD in BDL model, ß-catenin KD in Mdr2 KO aggravated rather than alleviated injury by interfering with expression of BA transporters, hepatocyte polarity, canalicular structure, and the regenerative response. CONCLUSIONS: The resulting imbalance between ongoing injury and restitution led to worsening of the Mdr2 KO phenotype, suggesting caution in targeting ß-catenin globally for all cholestatic conditions.

Effect of the ARG1 gene on arsenic resistance of 293T cells.

To study the relationship between arsenic resistance of 293T cells and overexpression of ARG1, the ARG1 gene in a recombinant plasmid was transfected into 293T cells via liposomes, and then ARG1 overexpression was examined by real-time PCR and immunocytochemistry. The survival rate, arsenic accumulation and arsenic efflux, GSH level, and GST activity of 293T cells overexpressing ARG1 were assayed by MTT, atomic absorption spectrophotometry, and DTNB, and expression of MRP-2 was detected by Western blot analysis. Compared to that in the control cells, the survival rate of ARG1 gene-overexpressing cells was much higher following exposure to lower sodium arsenite (≤ 8 µM). When cells were exposed to lower sodium arsenite for 24 h, the arsenite content of ARG1 gene-overexpressing cells decreased and arsenic efflux increased. After 48 h, the GSH level, GST activity, and expression of MRP2 increased in a concentration-dependent manner. We conclude that the ARG1 gene increases arsenic resistance of 293T cells.

Entamoeba histolytica: functional characterization of the -234 to -196 bp promoter region of the multidrug resistance EhPgp1 gene.

The multidrug resistance EhPgp1 gene is constitutively expressed in drug resistant trophozoites from Entamoeba histolytica. It has been demonstrated that two CCAAT/enhancer binding sites located in the EhPgp1 gene promoter control its transcriptional activation. However, functional assays of the 5' end of its promoter showed that region from -234 to -196 bp (38 bp) is also important for the EhPgp1 gene transcription. Here, we demonstrated that in the 38 bp region putative cis-activator sequences are located. In silico analysis showed the presence of GATA1, Gal4, Nit-2, and C/EBP consensus sequences. Additionally, we identified three specific DNA-protein complexes, which were competed by a C/EBP, GATA1, and HOX oligonucleotides. Finally, we partially purified three proteins of 64.4, 56.7, and 27.4 kDa. Further investigations are currently in progress to determine the identity of these nuclear factors and how they are interacting with the EhPgp1 gene promoter.

Modulation of the mdr-1b gene in the kidney of rats subjected to dehydration or a high-salt diet.

The localization of the multidrug resistance gene (mdr-1b) messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) along the rat nephron and its regulation was investigated under two different experimental situations: dehydration and high-Na+ diet. The mdr-1b mRNA was detected in glomeruli, proximal tubule segments, cortical and medullary thick ascending limbs, inner medullary collecting ducts and thin limbs of Henle's loop. Using the ribonuclease (RNase) protection assay (RPA), the abundance of mdr-1b mRNA was shown to be 35% less in renal cortex than in medulla. The mdr-1b mRNA expression in dehydrated rats in cortex or medulla did not differ from control. However, after 5 or 14 days on a high-Na+ diet, mdr-1b expression had decreased significantly in both cortex and medulla. There was no change in protein expression in dehydrated rats but a significant decrease occurred in rats fed the high-salt diet, confirming the results obtained with RPA. Our results suggest that the mdr-1b product is involved in extracellular volume regulation in rats.