Tannins are plant-derived water-soluble polyphenols with wideranging biological activities. The mechanisms underlying the anti-inflammatory effect of tannins are not fully understood and may be the result of inhibition of poly(ADP-ribose) (PAR) glycohydrolase (PARG), the main catabolic enzyme of PAR metabolism. Therefore, we set out to investigate the mechanism of the anti-inflammatory effect of gallotannin (GT) in A549 cells with special regard to the role of poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation. Using an inflammation-focused low-density array and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, we found that GT suppressed the expression of most cytokines and chemokines in cytokine-stimulated A549 cells, whereas the PARP inhibitor PJ-34 only inhibited few transcripts. Activation of the transcription factors, nuclear factor B (NF-B) and activator protein 1 (AP-1), was blocked by GT, whereas PJ-34 only suppressed NF-B activation but not AP-1 activation. GT also inhibited IB phosphorylation and nuclear translocation of NF-B, but PJ-34 had no effect on these upstream events. In the AP-1 pathway, GT treatment, even in the absence of cytokines, caused maximal phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase and c-Jun. GT also caused a low-level phosphorylation of p38, extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2, activating transcription factor2, and cAMP-response element-binding protein but inhibited cytokine-induced phosphorylation of these kinases and transcription factors. GT inhibited protein phosphatases 1 and 2A, which may explain the increased phosphorylation of mitogenactivated protein kinase and their substrates. GT exerted potent antioxidant effect but failed to cause PAR accumulation. In summary, the potent inhibitory effects of GT on the transcription of cytokine and chemokine genes are probably not related to PARG inhibition. Inhibition of AP-1 activation and upstream signaling events may be responsible for the effects of GT.Tannins are water-soluble polyphenols that are widely distributed in the plant kingdom, including food grains and fruits. So far, more than a thousand different tannins have been characterized and ordered into four major groups: 1) gallotannins (GT), 2) ellagitannins, 3) complex, and 4) condensed tannins, with gallotannins and ellagitannins considered the most widespread types. The common structural elements of all tannins include one or more polyol units (mostly D-glucose) and one or more polyphenols (gallic acid, 3,4,5-trihydroxyl benzoic acid).The simplest hydrolyzable tannin, gallotannin, is a mixture of polygalloyl esthers of glucose. Gallotannin and other tannins have been shown to exert various biological effects ranging from anti-inflammatory to anticancer and antiviral effects (Fong et al., 1972;Mota et al., 1985;Uchiumi et al., 1996;Van Molle et al., 2000;Feldman et al., 2001). The mechanisms underlying the anti-inflammatory effect of tannins include the scavenging of radicals (antioxidant effect) (Hagerman et al., 1999) and inhibition of the expression of

Peroxynitrite-induced poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activation has been implicated in the pathogenesis of various inflammatory conditions. Here we have investigated whether peroxynitrite and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase may play a role in the pathophysiology of the elicitation phase of contact hypersensitivity. We have detected nitrotyrosine, DNA breakage, and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activation in the epidermis of mice in an oxazolone-induced contact hypersensitivity model. As tyrosine nitration is mostly mediated by peroxynitrite, a nitric-oxide-derived cytotoxic oxidant capable of causing DNA breakage, we have applied peroxynitrite directly on mouse skin and showed poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activation in keratinocytes and in some scattered dermal cells. We have also investigated the cellular effects of peroxynitrite in HaCaT cells, a human keratinocyte cell line. We found that peroxynitrite inhibited cell proliferation and at higher concentrations also caused cytotoxicity. Peroxynitrite activates poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase in HaCaT cells and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activation contributes to peroxynitrite-induced cytotoxicity, as indicated by the cytoprotective effect of the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor 3-aminobenzamide. The cytoprotective effect of 3-aminobenzamide cannot be attributed to inhibition of apoptosis, as apoptotic parameters (caspase activation and DNA fragmentation) were not reduced in the presence of 3-aminobenzamide in peroxynitrite-treated cells. Moreover, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibition by 3-aminobenzamide dose-dependently reduced interferon-induced intercellular adhesion molecule 1 expression as well as interleukin-1beta-induced interleukin-8 expression. Our results indicate that peroxynitrite and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase regulate keratinocyte function and death in contact hypersensitivity.

S U M M A R YPoly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) is a nuclear enzyme activated by DNA damage. Activated PARP cleaves NAD ϩ into nicotinamide and (ADP-ribose) and polymerizes the latter on nuclear acceptor proteins. Over-activation of PARP by reactive oxygen and nitrogen intermediates represents a pathogenetic factor in various forms of inflammation, shock, and reperfusion injury. Using a novel commercially available substrate, 6-biotin-17-nicotinamide-adenine-dinucleotide (bio-NAD ϩ ), we have developed three applications, enzyme cytochemistry, enzyme histochemistry, and cell ELISA, to detect the activation of PARP in oxidatively stressed cells and tissues. With the novel assay we were able to detect basal and hydrogen peroxide-induced PARP activity in J774 macrophages. We also observed that mitotic cells display remarkably elevated PARP activity. Hydrogen peroxide-induced PARP activation could also be detected in wild-type peritoneal macrophages but not in macrophages from PARP-deficient mice. Application of hydrogen peroxide to the skin of mice also induced bio-NAD ϩ incorporation in the keratinocyte nuclei. Hydrogen peroxide-induced PARP activation and its inhibition by pharmacological PARP inhibitors could be detected in J774 cells with the ELISA assay that showed good correlation with the traditional [ 3 H]-NAD incorporation method. The bio-NAD ϩ assays represent sensitive, specific, and non-radioactive alternatives for detection of PARP activation.

In the last decade it has become well established that in the 2 Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of skin, nitric oxide (NO), a diffusable gas, mediates various physiologic Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary, and 3 Inotek Inc., Beverly, MA, USA functions ranging from the regulation of cutaneous blood flow to melanogenesis. If produced in excess, NO combines with superoxide anion to form peroxynitrite (ONOO -), a cytotoxic oxidant that has been made responsible for tissue injury during shock, inflammation and ischemia-reperfusion. The opposite effects of NO and ONOO -on various cellular processes may explain the 'double-edged sword' nature of NO depending on whether or not cellular conditions favour peroxynitrite formation. Peroxynitrite has been shown to activate the nuclear nick sensor enzyme, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). Overactivation of PARP depletes the cellular stores of NAD π , the substrate of PARP, and the ensuing 'cellular energetic catastrophy' results in necrotic cell death. Whereas the role of NO in numerous skin diseases including wound healing, burn injury, psoriasis, irritant and allergic contact dermatitis, ultraviolet (UV) light-induced sunburn erythema and the control of skin infections has been extensively documented, the intracutaneous role of Key words: inflammation -keratinocyte -nitric peroxynitrite and PARP has not been fully explored. We have recently oxide -peroxynitrite -poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase -skin demonstrated peroxynitrite production, DNA breakage and PARP activation in a murine model of contact hypersensitivity, and propose that

β-carotene (BC), a lipid-soluble tetraterpene precursor to vitamin A, widely distributed in plants, including many used in human diet, has well-known health-enhancing properties, including reducing risk of and treatment for certain diseases. Nevertheless, BC may also act to promote disease through the activity of BC derivatives that form in the presence of external toxicants such as cigarette smoke and endogenously-produced reactive oxygen species. The present investigation evaluates the dose-dependent cardioprotective and possibly harmful properties of BC in a rat model. Adult male rats were gavage-fed BC for 4 weeks, at dosages of either 0, 30 or 150 mg/kg/day. Then, hearts excised from the animals were mounted in a "working heart" apparatus and subjected to 30 min of global ischemia, followed by 120 min of reperfusion. A panel of cardiac functional evaluations was conducted on each heart. Infarct size and total antioxidant capacity of the myocardium were assessed. Heart tissue content of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) by Western blot analysis; and potential direct cytotoxic effects of BC by MTT assay were evaluated. Hearts taken from rats receiving 30 mg/kg/day BC exhibited significantly improved heart function at lower reperfusion times, but lost this protection at higher BC dosage and longer reperfusion times. Myocardial HO-1 content was significantly elevated dose-responsively to both BC dosage. Finally, in vitro evaluation of BC on H9c2 cells showed that the agent significantly improved vitality of these cells in a dose range of 2.5-10 μM. Although data presented here do not allow for a comprehensive mechanistic explanation for reduced cardioprotection at high dose BC, it is speculated that since Fe2+ produced as a metabolite of HO-1 activity, may determine whether BC acts as an antioxidant or prooxidant agent, the strong induction of this enzyme in response to ischemia/reperfusion-induced oxidative stress may account for the high-dose BC loss of cardioprotection.