Amiodarone is recognized as an effective drug in the treatment of arrhythmias. Previous experiments demonstrated that mono-N-desethylamiodarone (MDEA) was the major circulating metabolite in humans. In addition, dealkylation, hydroxylation, and deamination were minor metabolic pathways. The purpose of this study was to identify the metabolites of amiodarone in the bile obtained from patients wi...

The volatile anesthetic halothane undergoes substantial biotransformation generating metabolites that mediate hepatotoxicity. Aerobically, halothane undergoes cytochrome P450-catalyzed oxidation to trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), bromide and a reactive intermediate that can acetylate liver proteins. These protein neo-antigens stimulate an immune reaction that mediates severe hepatic necrosis ("halo...

Chronic ethanol ingestion leads to an enhanced risk of upper gastrointestinal tract cancer. Although many hypotheses for the tumor promoting effect of alcohol exist, the pathogenetic mechanisms remain unclear since alcohol in itself is not carcinogenic. Acetaldehyde, the first metabolite of ethanol, has been shown to have multiple mutagenic effects and to be carcinogenic to animals. Previous re...

Candida biofilms formed on indwelling medical devices are increasingly associated with severe infections. In this study, we used proteomics and Western and Northern blotting analyses to demonstrate that alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) is downregulated in Candida biofilms. Disruption of ADH1 significantly (P = 0.0046) enhanced the ability of Candida albicans to form biofilm. Confocal scanning laser ...

A polymorphic mutation in the acetaldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) gene has been epidemiologically linked to the high susceptibility to esophageal carcinogenesis for individuals with alcohol use disorders. Mice subjected to alcohol drinking show increased oxidative stress and DNA adduct formation in esophageal epithelia where Aldh2 loss augments alcohol-induced genotoxic effects; however, it re...

Ethanol metabolism in the liver induces oxidative stress and altered cytokine production preceding myofibroblast activation and fibrogenic responses. The purpose of this study was to determine how ethanol affects the fibrogenic response in precision-cut liver slices (PCLS). PCLS were obtained from chow-fed male Wistar rats (200-300 g) and were cultured up to 96 h in medium, 25 mM ethanol, or 25...

In vitro studies were conducted to identify the cytochromes P450 (P450s) involved in the formation of 2- and 3-hydroxycarbamazepine, metabolites that may serve as precursors in the formation of protein-reactive metabolites. Human liver microsomes (HLMs) converted carbamazepine (30-300 microM) to 3-hydroxycarbamazepine at rates >25 times those of 2-hydroxycarbamazepine. Both the 2- and 3-hydroxy...

Alcohol abuse results in liver injury, but investigations into the mechanism(s) for this injury have been hampered by the lack of appropriate in vitro culture models in which to conduct in depth and specific studies. In order to overcome these shortcomings, we have developed the use of precision-cut liver slices (PCLS) as an in vitro culture model in which to investigate how ethanol causes alco...

We tested the influence of IFNgamma on proteasome activity in parental Hep G2 cells that do not metabolize ethanol, as well as in recombinant Hep G2-derived cells that express either or both alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and cytochrome P4502E1 (CYP2E1). IFNgamma treatment increased proteasome activity in VL-17A (ADH(+), CYP2E1(+)) and E-47 (CYP2E1(+)) cells, but not in Hep G2, VI-R2 (parental cel...

Salem SA, et al. BMJ Case Rep 2017. doi:10.1136/bcr-2017-221373 Description A 48-year-old man with diabetes mellitus and alcohol abuse presented to the emergency room (ER) with altered mental status, vomiting and abdominal pain. On examination, he was confused and uncooperative with a blood pressure of 70/40 mm Hg, heart rate of 66 beats/min, respiratory rate of 30 breaths/min and oxygen satura...