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Physiology & Behavior Dec 2015Until recently, the general belief was that non-nutritive sweeteners (NNSs) were healthy sugar substitutes because they provide sweet taste without calories or glycemic... (Review)
Review
Until recently, the general belief was that non-nutritive sweeteners (NNSs) were healthy sugar substitutes because they provide sweet taste without calories or glycemic effects. However, data from several epidemiological studies have found that consumption of NNSs, mainly in diet sodas, is associated with increased risk to develop obesity, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes. The main purpose of this article is to review recent scientific evidence supporting potential mechanisms that explain how "metabolically inactive" NNSs, which have few, if any, calories, might promote metabolic dysregulation. Three potential mechanisms, which are not mutually exclusive, are presented: 1) NNSs interfere with learned responses that contribute to control glucose and energy homeostasis, 2) NNSs interfere with gut microbiota and induce glucose intolerance, and 3) NNSs interact with sweet-taste receptors expressed throughout the digestive system that play a role in glucose absorption and trigger insulin secretion. In addition, recent findings from our laboratory showing an association between individual taste sensitivity to detect sucralose and sucralose's acute effects on metabolic response to an oral glucose load are reported. Taken as a whole, data support the notion that NNSs have metabolic effects. More research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms by which NNSs may drive metabolic dysregulation and better understand potential effects of these commonly used food additives.
Topics: Animals; Energy Metabolism; Enteroendocrine Cells; Humans; Non-Nutritive Sweeteners
PubMed: 26095119
DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2015.06.024 -
Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Feb 2016Sandwich-cultured hepatocytes (SCH) are metabolically competent and have proper localization of basolateral and canalicular transporters with functional bile networks.... (Review)
Review
Sandwich-cultured hepatocytes (SCH) are metabolically competent and have proper localization of basolateral and canalicular transporters with functional bile networks. Therefore, this cellular model is a unique tool that can be used to estimate biliary excretion of compounds. SCH have been used widely to assess hepatobiliary disposition of endogenous and exogenous compounds and metabolites. Mechanistic modeling based on SCH data enables estimation of metabolic and transporter-mediated clearances, which can be used to construct physiologically based pharmacokinetic models for prediction of drug disposition and drug-drug interactions in humans. In addition to pharmacokinetic studies, SCH also have been used to study cytotoxicity and perturbation of biological processes by drugs and hepatically generated metabolites. Human SCH can provide mechanistic insights underlying clinical drug-induced liver injury (DILI). In addition, data generated in SCH can be integrated into systems pharmacology models to predict potential DILI in humans. In this review, applications of SCH in studying hepatobiliary drug disposition and bile acid-mediated DILI are discussed. An example is presented to show how data generated in the SCH model were used to establish a quantitative relationship between intracellular bile acids and cytotoxicity, and how this information was incorporated into a systems pharmacology model for DILI prediction.
Topics: Animals; Biological Transport; Cell Culture Techniques; Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury; Drug Liberation; Hepatocytes; Humans; Metabolic Networks and Pathways; Pharmaceutical Preparations; Tissue Distribution
PubMed: 26869411
DOI: 10.1016/j.xphs.2015.11.008 -
Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics Jul 2020Quantitative systems pharmacology (QSP) has emerged as a transformative science in drug discovery and development. It is now time to fully rethink the biological... (Review)
Review
Quantitative systems pharmacology (QSP) has emerged as a transformative science in drug discovery and development. It is now time to fully rethink the biological functions of drug metabolizing enzymes (DMEs) and transporters within the framework of QSP models. The large set of DME and transporter genes are generally considered from the perspective of the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) of drugs. However, there is a growing amount of data on the endogenous physiology of DMEs and transporters. Recent studies-including systems biology analyses of "omics" data as well as metabolomics studies-indicate that these enzymes and transporters, which are often among the most highly expressed genes in tissues like liver, kidney, and intestine, have coordinated roles in fundamental biological processes. Multispecific DMEs and transporters work together with oligospecific and monospecific ADME proteins in a large multiorgan remote sensing and signaling network. We use the Remote Sensing and Signaling Theory (RSST) to examine the roles of DMEs and transporters in intratissue, interorgan, and interorganismal communication via metabolites and signaling molecules. This RSST-based view is applicable to bile acids, uric acid, eicosanoids, fatty acids, uremic toxins, and gut microbiome products, among other small organic molecules of physiological interest. Rooting this broader perspective of DMEs and transporters within QSP may facilitate an improved understanding of fundamental biology, physiologically based pharmacokinetics, and the prediction of drug toxicities based upon the interplay of these ADME proteins with key pathways in metabolism and signaling. The RSST-based view should also enable more tailored pharmacotherapy in the setting of kidney disease, liver disease, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes. We further discuss the pharmaceutical and regulatory implications of this revised view through the lens of systems physiology.
Topics: Animals; Biological Transport; Drug Development; Enzymes; Humans; Membrane Transport Proteins; Metabolomics; Models, Biological; Pharmaceutical Preparations; Systems Biology
PubMed: 32119114
DOI: 10.1002/cpt.1818 -
Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta.... Jun 2021Pregnane X receptor (PXR) and constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) are two nuclear receptors that are well-known for their roles in xenobiotic detoxification by... (Review)
Review
Pregnane X receptor (PXR) and constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) are two nuclear receptors that are well-known for their roles in xenobiotic detoxification by regulating the expression of drug-metabolizing enzymes and transporters. In addition to metabolizing drugs and other xenobiotics, the same enzymes and transporters are also responsible for the production and elimination of numerous endogenous chemicals, or endobiotics. Moreover, both PXR and CAR are highly expressed in the liver. As such, it is conceivable that PXR and CAR have major potentials to affect the pathophysiology of the liver by regulating the homeostasis of endobiotics. In recent years, the physiological functions of PXR and CAR in the liver have been extensively studied. Emerging evidence has suggested the roles of PXR and CAR in energy metabolism, bile acid homeostasis, cell proliferation, to name a few. This review summarizes the recent progress in our understanding of the roles of PXR and CAR in liver physiology.
Topics: Animals; Constitutive Androstane Receptor; Humans; Inactivation, Metabolic; Liver Diseases; Pregnane X Receptor; Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear; Xenobiotics
PubMed: 33600998
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbadis.2021.166101 -
Frontiers in Immunology 2024Excess dietary fructose consumption has been long proposed as a culprit for the world-wide increase of incidence in metabolic disorders and cancer within the past... (Review)
Review
Excess dietary fructose consumption has been long proposed as a culprit for the world-wide increase of incidence in metabolic disorders and cancer within the past decades. Understanding that cancer cells can gradually accumulate metabolic mutations in the tumor microenvironment, where glucose is often depleted, this raises the possibility that fructose can be utilized by cancer cells as an alternative source of carbon. Indeed, recent research has increasingly identified various mechanisms that show how cancer cells can metabolize fructose to support their proliferating and migrating needs. In light of this growing interest, this review will summarize the recent advances in understanding how fructose can metabolically reprogram different types of cancer cells, as well as how these metabolic adaptations can positively support cancer cells development and malignancy.
Topics: Humans; Fructose; Neoplasms; Tumor Microenvironment; Animals; Cellular Reprogramming; Energy Metabolism; Metabolic Reprogramming
PubMed: 38711514
DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1375461 -
Accounts of Chemical Research Nov 2022Signaling lipids, such as the endocannabinoids, play an important role in the brain. They regulate synaptic transmission and control various neurophysiological... (Review)
Review
Signaling lipids, such as the endocannabinoids, play an important role in the brain. They regulate synaptic transmission and control various neurophysiological processes, including pain sensation, appetite, memory formation, stress, and anxiety. Unlike classical neurotransmitters, lipid messengers are produced on demand and degraded by metabolic enzymes to control their lifespan and signaling actions. Chemical biology approaches have become one of the main driving forces to study and unravel the physiological role of lipid messengers in the brain. Here, we review how the development and use of chemical probes has allowed one to study endocannabinoid signaling by (i) inhibiting the biosynthetic and metabolic enzymes; (ii) visualizing the activity of these enzymes; and (iii) controlling the release and transport of the endocannabinoids. Activity-based probes were instrumental to guide the discovery of highly selective and in vivo active inhibitors of the biosynthetic (DAGL, NAPE-PLD) and metabolic (MAGL, FAAH) enzymes of endocannabinoids. These inhibitors allowed one to study the role of these enzymes in animal models of disease. For instance, the DAGL-MAGL axis was shown to control neuroinflammation and the NAPE-PLD-FAAH axis to regulate emotional behavior. Activity-based protein profiling and chemical proteomics were essential to guide the drug discovery and development of compounds targeting MAGL and FAAH, such as ABX-1431 (Lu AG06466) and PF-04457845, respectively. These experimental drugs are now in clinical trials for multiple indications, including multiple sclerosis and post-traumatic stress disorders. Activity-based probes have also been used to visualize the activity of these lipid metabolizing enzymes with high spatial resolution in brain slices, thereby showing the cell type-specific activity of these lipid metabolizing enzymes. The transport, release, and uptake of signaling lipids themselves cannot, however, be captured by activity-based probes in a spatiotemporal controlled manner. Therefore, bio-orthogonal lipids equipped with photoreactive, photoswitchable groups or photocages have been developed. These chemical probes were employed to investigate the protein interaction partners of the endocannabinoids, such as putative membrane transporters, as well as to study the functional cellular responses within milliseconds upon irradiation. Finally, genetically encoded sensors have recently been developed to monitor the real-time release of endocannabinoids with high spatiotemporal resolution in cultured neurons, acute brain slices, and in vivo mouse models. It is anticipated that the combination of chemical probes, highly selective inhibitors, and sensors with advanced (super resolution) imaging modalities, such as PharmacoSTORM and correlative light-electron microscopy, will uncover the fundamental basis of lipid signaling at nanoscale resolution in the brain. Furthermore, chemical biology approaches enable the translation of these fundamental discoveries into clinical solutions for brain diseases with aberrant lipid signaling.
Topics: Animals; Mice; Endocannabinoids; Lipid Metabolism; Brain; Neurons; Synaptic Transmission
PubMed: 36283077
DOI: 10.1021/acs.accounts.2c00521 -
Current Drug Metabolism Jun 2011In the field of pharmacogenetics, we currently have a few markers to guide physicians as to the best course of therapy for patients. For the most part, these genetic... (Review)
Review
In the field of pharmacogenetics, we currently have a few markers to guide physicians as to the best course of therapy for patients. For the most part, these genetic variants are within a drug metabolizing enzyme that has a large effect on the degree or rate at which a drug is converted to its metabolites. For many drugs, response and toxicity are multi-genic traits and understanding relationships between a patient's genetic variation in drug metabolizing enzymes and the efficacy and/or toxicity of a medication offers the potential to optimize therapies. This review will focus on variants in drug metabolizing enzymes with predictable and relatively large impacts on drug efficacy and/or toxicity; some of these drug/gene variant pairs have impacted drug labels by the United States Food and Drug Administration. The challenges in identifying genetic markers and implementing clinical changes based on known markers will be discussed. In addition, the impact of next generation sequencing in identifying rare variants will be addressed.
Topics: Biomarkers, Pharmacological; Drug Labeling; Drug Therapy; Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions; Genetic Variation; Humans; Inactivation, Metabolic; Pharmaceutical Preparations; Pharmacogenetics; United States; United States Food and Drug Administration
PubMed: 21453273
DOI: 10.2174/138920011795495321 -
Basic & Clinical Pharmacology &... Mar 2010A Biopharmaceutics Drug Disposition Classification System (BDDCS) was proposed to serve as a basis for predicting the importance of transporters in determining drug... (Review)
Review
A Biopharmaceutics Drug Disposition Classification System (BDDCS) was proposed to serve as a basis for predicting the importance of transporters in determining drug bioavailability and disposition. BDDCS may be useful in predicting: routes of drug elimination; efflux and absorptive transporters effects on oral absorption; when transporter-enzyme interplay will yield clinically significant effects (e.g. low drug bioavailability and drug-drug interactions); and transporter effects on post-absorptive systemic drug levels following oral and i.v. dosing. For highly soluble, highly permeable Class 1 compounds, metabolism is the major route of elimination and transporter effects on drug bioavailability and hepatic disposition are negligible. In contrast for the poorly permeable Class 3 and 4 compounds, metabolism only plays a minor role in drug elimination. Uptake transporters are major determinants of drug bioavailability for these poorly permeable drugs and both uptake and efflux transporters could be important for drug elimination. Highly permeable, poorly soluble, extensively metabolized Class 2 compounds present the most complicated relationship in defining the impact of transporters due to a marked transporter-enzyme interplay. Uptake transporters are unimportant for Class 2 drug bioavailability, (ensure space after,) but can play a major role in hepatic and renal elimination. Efflux transporters have major effects on drug bioavailability, absorption, metabolism and elimination of Class 2 drugs. It is difficult to accurately characterize drugs in terms of the high permeability criteria, i.e. > or =90% absorbed. We suggest that extensive metabolism may substitute for the high permeability characteristic, and that BDDCS using elimination criteria may provide predictability in characterizing drug disposition profiles for all classes of compounds.
Topics: Administration, Oral; Biological Availability; Biological Transport; Biopharmaceutics; Carrier Proteins; Forecasting; Humans; Injections, Intravenous; Metabolic Clearance Rate; Models, Biological; Pharmaceutical Preparations; Solubility; Tissue Distribution
PubMed: 20002064
DOI: 10.1111/j.1742-7843.2009.00498.x -
International Journal of Molecular... Oct 2020In vitro methods which incorporate metabolic capability into the assays allow us to assess the activity of metabolites from their parent compounds. These methods can be... (Review)
Review
In vitro methods which incorporate metabolic capability into the assays allow us to assess the activity of metabolites from their parent compounds. These methods can be applied into high-throughput screening (HTS) platforms, thereby increasing the speed to identify compounds that become active via the metabolism process. HTS was originally used in the pharmaceutical industry and now is also used in academic settings to evaluate biological activity and/or toxicity of chemicals. Although most chemicals are metabolized in our body, many HTS assays lack the capability to determine compound activity via metabolism. To overcome this problem, several in vitro metabolic methods have been applied to an HTS format. In this review, we describe in vitro metabolism methods and their application in HTS assays, as well as discuss the future perspectives of HTS with metabolic activity. Each in vitro metabolism method has advantages and disadvantages. For instance, the S9 mix has a full set of liver metabolic enzymes, but it displays high cytotoxicity in cell-based assays. In vitro metabolism requires liver fractions or the use of other metabolically capable systems, including primary hepatocytes or recombinant enzymes. Several newly developed in vitro metabolic methods, including HepaRG cells, three-dimensional (3D) cell models, and organ-on-a-chip technology, will also be discussed. These newly developed in vitro metabolism approaches offer significant progress in dissecting biological processes, developing drugs, and making toxicology studies quicker and more efficient.
Topics: Cells, Cultured; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; Hepatocytes; High-Throughput Screening Assays; Humans; Inactivation, Metabolic
PubMed: 33142951
DOI: 10.3390/ijms21218182 -
Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews Oct 2010Drug-metabolizing enzymes (DMEs) and transporters play pivotal roles in the disposition and detoxification of numerous foreign and endogenous chemicals. To accommodate... (Review)
Review
Drug-metabolizing enzymes (DMEs) and transporters play pivotal roles in the disposition and detoxification of numerous foreign and endogenous chemicals. To accommodate chemical challenges, the expression of many DMEs and transporters is up-regulated by a group of ligand-activated transcription factors namely nuclear receptors (NRs). The importance of NRs in xenobiotic metabolism and clearance is best exemplified by the most promiscuous xenobiotic receptors: pregnane X receptor (PXR, NR1I2) and constitutive androstane/activated receptor (CAR, NR1I3). Together, these two receptors govern the inductive expression of a largely overlapping array of target genes encoding phase I and II DMEs, and drug transporters. Moreover, PXR and CAR also represent two distinctive mechanisms of NR activation, whereby CAR demonstrates both constitutive and ligand-independent activation. In this review, recent advances in our understanding of PXR and CAR as xenosensors are discussed with emphasis placed on the differences rather than similarities of these two xenobiotic receptors in ligand recognition and target gene regulation.
Topics: Animals; Biological Transport; Carrier Proteins; Constitutive Androstane Receptor; Gene Expression Regulation; Humans; Inactivation, Metabolic; Ligands; Pregnane X Receptor; Receptors, Aryl Hydrocarbon; Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear; Receptors, Steroid; Transcription Factors; Xenobiotics
PubMed: 20727377
DOI: 10.1016/j.addr.2010.08.006