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The individual genotoxic response of cultured human lymphocytes to diepoxybutane (DEB), an epoxide metabolite of 1,3-butadiene, shows a bimodal distribution. Blood donors can be classified as either DEB-sensitive or DEB-resistant on the basis of the frequency of sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) induced by DEB in whole-blood lymphocyte cultures. The genetic basis of this phenomenon has thusfar been unknown. To investigate if differences in the ability of individuals to detoxify DEB could explain the bimodal response, sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) induced by a 48-h treatment with DEB (2 and 5 microM) were analyzed in whole-blood lymphocyte cultures of 20 human donors with known genotypes of two polymorphic glutathione S-transferases (GSTs), GSTT1 and GSTM1. Both polymorphisms include a homozygous null genotype lacking the respective GST gene and isozyme. The mean frequency of SCEs/cell was 1.6 times higher among GSTT1 null donors (n = 8) than GSTT1 positive donors (n = 12) at both 2 microM DEB (mean 67.3 versus 40.9) and 5 microM DEB (mean 123.2 versus 77.5), with no overlapping in DEB-induced individual SCE frequencies between the two genotypes. Thus, all DEB-sensitive individuals were of the GSTT1 null genotype, while all DEB-resistant persons had a detectable GSTT1 gene. A significant (P < 0.05) negative correlation (r = -0.65 at 5 microM, r = -0.56 at 2 microM) was obtained in the GSTT1 positive donors between DEB-induced individual SCE frequency and RBC GSTT1 activity, measured by formaldehyde formation from dichloromethane; the GSTT1 null individuals showed no GSTT1 activity. At 5 microM DEB, the lymphocyte cultures of the GSTT1 null donors also had a significantly decreased replication index, indicating an impact of GSTT1 genotype on the cytotoxicity of DEB. No influence on DEB-induced SCEs or cytotoxic effects was observed for GSTM1 genotype. It is concluded that sensitivity to in vitro SCE induction by DEB is explained by the lack of GSTT1.

SUMMARYA high activity glutathione S-transferase TI-1 (GSTTI-1) towards dichloromethane was isolated from human liver cytosol and purified to homogenity in 18.5% yield with a purification .factor of 4400-fold. The GSTTI-1 was also isolated from erythrocytes, but the enzyme activity decreased rapidly in the final stages of purification. The purified GSTT 1-1-s were homo-dimeric enzymes with a subunit M, value 25,300 and pl 6.64, as confirmed by SDS-PAGE, IEF and Western blot analysis. The N-terminal amino acid sequences ofGSTTI-1 from liver and red blood cells, analyzed up to the 12th amino acid, were identical. Immunoblot analysis revealed that GSTT1-1 was also present in lung, kidney, brain, skeletal muscle, heart, small intestine and spleen, but not in lymphocytes.

Studies suggest that vulnerability to panic attacks and panic disorder (PD) may be related to a deficient serotonin (5-HT) neurotransmission. In the present case-control study we investigated possible associations between PD phenotype and five candidate polymorphisms including 5-HT transporter (5-HTTLPR and VNTR), monoamine oxidase A (MAOA promoter region), tryptophan hydroxylase 1 (TPH1 218A/C) and 5-HT1B receptor (5-HT1BR 861G/C) genes. The study sample consisted of 158 patients with PD and 215 healthy control subjects. The analysis showed higher frequencies of LL genotype (p=0.016) and L allele variant (p=0.007) of 5-HTTLPR in the patients. No significant associations were observed between PD and other candidate gene polymorphisms. However, a higher frequency of longer allele genotypes of the MAOA promoter region was observed in female PD patients with agoraphobia than in female controls (p=0.016). These findings indicate that genetic variants conceivably related to lower 5-HT neurotransmission may be involved in the development of PD.