Cadmium (Cd), a harmful metal, exerts severe toxic effects on various tissues such as those in the kidney, liver, lung, and bone. In particular, renal toxicity with damage to proximal tubule cells is caused by chronic exposure to Cd. However, the molecular mechanism underlying chronic Cd renal toxicity remains to be understood. In this review, we present our recent findings since we examined to search for the target molecules involved in the renal toxicity of Cd using toxicogenomics. In NRK-52E rat renal tubular epithelial cells, we found using DNA microarrays that Cd suppressed the expression of the gene encoding Ube2d4, a member of the Ube2d family. The Ube2d family consists of selective ubiquitin-conjugating enzymes associated with p53 degradation. Moreover, Cd suppressed the expressions of genes encoding all Ube2d family members (Ube2d1/2/3/4) prior to the appearance of cytotoxicity in NRK-52E cells. Cd markedly increased p53 protein level and induced p53 phosphorylation and apoptosis in the cells. In vivo studies showed that chronic Cd exposure also suppressed Ube2d family gene expression and induced p53 accumulation and apoptosis in the renal tubules of the mouse kidney. These findings suggest that Cd causes p53-dependent apoptosis due to the inhibition of p53 degradation through the down-regulation of Ube2d family genes in NRK-52E cells and mouse kidney. Thus, the Ube2d family genes may be one of the key targets of renal toxicity caused by Cd.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common, chronically relapsing skin disease. It is very difficult to treat severe type AD by steroid ointment. We therefore hypothesized that synthetic double-stranded DNA with a high affinity for Signal Transducers and Activators of Transcription 6 (STAT6) could be introduced in vivo as a decoy cis elements to bind the transcriptional factor and to block the gene activation of contributing the onset and progression of AD, thus providing effective therapy for AD. Treatment by the transfection of STAT6 decoy oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN), but not scrambled decoy ODN in the AD model mice, had a significantly inhibitory effect on not only STAT6 binding to nuclei but also on the third phase response. A histological analysis revealed that both edema and the infiltration of eosinophils and degranulated mast cells significantly decreased in STAT6 decoy ODN transfected mice. We herein report the first successful in vivo transfer of STAT6 decoy ODN to reduce the third phase reaction in AD model mice, thereby providing a new therapeutic strategy for atopic dermatitis. We also introduce another NF-kB Decoy Oligodeoxynucleotides therapy or STAT6siRNA therapy for allergic diseases.

We previously demonstrated that ciprofloxacin (CPX), a new quinolone antibiotic, suppresses Cyp3a in the mouse liver by reducing the hepatic level of lithocholic acid (LCA) produced by intestinal flora. The present study investigated the possibility that other antibiotics with antibacterial activity against LCA-producing bacteria also cause a decrease in the LCA level in the liver, leading to reduced expression of Cyp3a11. While the mRNA expression of Cyp3a11 in the liver was significantly reduced when SPF mice were administered antibiotics such as ampicillin, CPX, levofloxacin, or a combination of vancomycin and imipenem, no significant changes were observed after antibiotic treatment of GF mice lacking intestinal flora. LCA-producing bacteria in the feces as well as the hepatic level of the taurine conjugate of LCA were significantly reduced in the antibiotic-treated SPF mice, suggesting that the decrease in Cyp3a11 expression can be attributed to the reduction in LCA-producing intestinal flora following antibiotic administration. These results suggest that the administration of antibiotics with activity against LCA-producing bacteria can also cause a decrease in the LCA level in humans, which may lower CYP3A4 expression. The intestinal flora are reported to be altered not only by drugs, such as antibiotics, but also by stress, disease, and age. The findings of the present study suggest that these changes in intestinal flora could modify CYP expression and contribute to the individual differences in pharmacokinetics.

Docetaxel, a second-generation taxane, is one of the most powerful anticancer drugs for breast cancer. It has been widely used in the metastatic setting but also in the adjuvant or neoadjuvant setting for breast cancer patients. However, docetaxel is not effective for all breast cancers. The response rate is 40-60% even in first-line chemotherapy and it decreases to 20-30% in the second-or third-line chemotherapy. Therefore, it is very important to predict the sensitivity of docetaxel with high accuracy in order to avoid unnecessary treatment. Docetaxel binds to beta-tubulin and promotes polymerization, resulting in interference with mitosis. Unfortunately, the mechanism of sensitivity or resistance to docetaxel has not been fully understood. Recent studies in this area have demonstrated various mechanisms involved in the anti-tumor activity of docetaxel: (1) efflux (p-glycoprotein), (2) metabolism (CYP3A4), (3) beta-tubulin (isotype class I and III), (4) cell cycle (HER2, BRCA1), (5) apoptosis (p53, Bcl-2, thioredoxin), and (6) cell proliferation (MIB-1, nuclear grade). In addition, recently, gene expression profiling has been applied to the prediction of response to docetaxel in breast cancer. This work has reviewed recent studies, including ours, which have evaluated the association between these biological parameters and response to docetaxel in breast cancer.

Various anticancer drug treatments have contributed to elongating survival of cancer patients. However, cancer often metastasizes and recurs in spite of anti-cancer drug treatment. It is important to control metastasis in order to achieve a favorable outcome. In this study, we confirmed that an expression of E-selectin in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) was stimulated by 5-FU, and that the expression of E-selectin was inhibited by cimetidine which was a H2 receptor antagonist.

Chromium exists in many different oxidation states in the environment, Cr(VI) and Cr(III) being the most stable forms. Chromium has been known for over 100 years to be a human carcinogen. The greatest risk of cancer from chromium exposure is associated with Cr(VI). Cr(VI) enters cells via the sulfate anion transporter system and is reduced to intermediate oxidation states, such as Cr(V) and Cr(IV), in the process of forming stable Cr(III) forms. It is known that Cr(VI) affects expression of various genes. Metal responsive element-binding transcription factor-1 (MTF-1) is involved in sensing heavy metal load and the induced transcription of several protective genes, including metallothionein (MT)-I, MT-II, zinc transporter-1, and gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase. Cr(VI) inhibits zinc-induced MT transcription via modifying transactivation potential of MTF-1. However, the molecular mechanism for the Cr(VI)-mediated inhibition of MTF-1 has not been fully elucidated. In this review, I briefly summarize the previous studies and discuss the current status of research on Cr(VI) toxicity and Cr(VI)-mediated inhibition against transcription.

Prolonged exposure of humans to ambient particulate matter such as diesel exhaust particles (DEP) induces a variety of adverse health effects including cardiovascular diseases, asthma and cancer. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their derivatives in DEP are thought to be potential candidates for the deleterious effects of DEP. We have identified 1,2-naphthoquinone (1,2-NQ) as a novel PAH quinone that contaminates DEP. Because 1,2-NQ is covalently bound to macromolecules through reactive thiols (thiolate ions), our rationale was that cellular proteins modified by 1,2-NQ seem to act as a redox-sensor and thus the interaction of thiol proteins with 1,2-NQ may disrupt their functions. To address our hypothesis, we prepared specific antibody against 1,2-NQ bound to proteins. In this review, we introduce an inhibitor of kappaB kinasebeta (IKKbeta) and protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) as target molecules for 1,2-NQ. Although IKKbeta activates transcription factor NF-kappaB and PTP1B negatively regulates the receptor-protein tyrosine kinase, such as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in cells, covalent modification of these proteins caused by 1,2-NQ results in inhibition of NF-kappaB activity and transactivation of EGFR.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are ligand-activated transcription factors and commonly play an important role in the regulation of lipid homeostasis. Although three PPAR subtypes, alpha, delta and gamma show a relatively close amino acid sequence homology, the functions of each PPAR are distinct. For example, PPARalpha and PPARdelta induce lipid oxidation, while PPARgamma activates lipid storage and adipogenesis. To analyze the detail functions of human PPARs, we previously established tetracycline-regulated human hepatoblastoma cell lines that can be induced to express each human PPAR subtype. The expression of each PPAR subtype in established cell line was tightly controlled by the concentration of doxycycline. DNA microarray analyses using these cell lines were performed with or without adding ligand and provided the important information on the PPAR target genes. Furthermore, we analyzed the 5'-flanking region of the human adipose differentiation-related protein (adrp) gene that responded to all subtypes of PPARs, and determined the functional PPRE of the human adrp gene. Here we discuss the usefulness of these cell lines.

Histamine H(1) receptors are down-regulated as one step in receptor desensitization. Five phosphorylation sites of the H(1) receptor seem to play a key role in receptor down-regulation. In contrast, an increase in the H(1) receptor expression level following its mRNA elevation was found in the nasal mucosa in hypersensitivity model rats. Up-regulation of the H(1) receptor was induced by the direct stimulation of the H(1) receptor. H(1) receptor up-regulation was suppressed by pretreatment with antiallergic agents.

We established adrenal medullary cell lines from transgenic mice expressing an oncogene, the temperature-sensitive simian virus 40 large T-antigen, under the control of the tyrosine hydroxylase promoter. A clonal cell line, named tsAM5D, conditionally grew at a permissive temperature of 33 degrees C and exhibited the dopaminergic chromaffin cell phenotype as exemplified by the expression pattern of mRNA for catecholamine synthesizing-enzymes and secretory vesicle-associated proteins. tsAM5D cells proliferated at the permissive temperature in response to glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF). At a nonpermissive temperature of 39 degrees C, GDNF and CNTF acted synergistically to differentiate tsAM5D cells into neuron-like cells. In addition, tsAM5D cells caused to differentiate by GDNF plus CNTF at 39 degrees C became dependent solely on nerve growth factor for their survival and showed markedly enhanced neurite outgrowth. In the presence of GDNF plus CNTF, the morphological change induced by the temperature shift was associated with up-regulated expression of neuronal marker genes including microtubule-associated protein 2, neuron-specific enolase, neurofilament, and growth-associated protein-43, indicating that the cells underwent neuronal differentiation. Thus, we demonstrated that tsAM5D cells could proliferate at permissive 33 degrees C, and also had the capacity to terminally differentiate into neuron-like cells in response to GDNF plus CNTF when the oncogene was inactivated by shifting the temperature to nonpermissive 39 degrees C. These results suggest that tsAM5D cells should be a good tool to allow a detailed study of mechanisms regulating neuronal differentiation.