title: Evidence for cytochrome P450 2E1 catalytic activity and expression in rat blood lymphocytes.
abstract: Studies initiated to characterize cytochrome P450 2E1(CYP2E1) in freshly isolated rat blood lymphocytes revealed significant mRNA of CYP2E1 in control blood lymphocytes. RT-PCR studies have shown that as observed in liver, acute treatment of ethanol (single oral dose of 0.8 ml/kg b.wt, i.p), resulted in increase in the mRNA expression of CYP2E1 in freshly isolated rat blood lymphocytes. Western blotting studies using polyclonal antibody raised against rat liver CYP2E1 demonstrated significant immunoreactivity, comigrating with the liver isoenzyme, in freshly isolated control rat blood lymphocytes. Similar to that seen in liver, pretreatment of ethanol was found to produce an increase in the CYP2E1 isoenzyme in the blood lymphocytes. Blood lymphocytes were also found to catalyze the CYP dependent N-demethylation of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), which like in liver increased 2-3 fold following pretreatment of rats with known CYP2E1 inducers. Kinetic studies have further shown significant increase in the apparent Vmax and the affinity towards the substrate in rat blood lymphocytes indicating that as observed in liver, the increase in mRNA and protein expression following exposure to CYP2E1 inducers is associated with the increased catalytic activity of CYP2E1 in freshly isolated rat blood lymphocytes. The data indicating similarities of the blood lymphocyte CYP2E1 with the liver enzyme suggest that lymphocyte CYP2E1 levels in freshly isolated rat blood lymphocytes could be used to monitor tissue enzyme levels.
authors.affiliation: Developmental Toxicology Division, Industrial Toxicology Research Centre, P.O. Box 80, M.G. Marg, Lucknow-226 001, U.P., India.
authors.forename: Aparajita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dey
authors.forename: Alok
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dhawan
authors.forename: Prahlad
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kishore Seth
authors.forename: Devendra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Parmar
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000494:pharmacology; D019392:Cytochrome P-450 CYP2E1 / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000378:metabolism*; D004587:Electrophoresis, Agar Gel; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008099:Liver / Q000201:enzymology; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000201:enzymology*; D008297:Male; D009603:Nitroso Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D009603:Nitroso Compounds; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C008651:4-nitrosodimethylaniline; D000431:Ethanol; D019392:Cytochrome P-450 CYP2E1