Drug-induced Liver Injury (DILI) is becoming a significant public health issue because of its potential impact, not only on patients but also on the development of new drugs. DILI events are also the main cause of regulatory action pertaining to drugs, including denial of marketing approval, restrictions with respect to clinical indications and withdrawal from the marketplace (Lee, 2003;Smith and Schmid, 2006). Acetaminophen (APAP) is a commonly used and effective analgesic and antipyretic agent for relief of mild and moderate pain and is available as an over-the-counter medication. Overdoses of APAP, however, cause severe acute hepatotoxicity both in animals (Lauterburg et al., 1983) and humans (Black, 1984;Davidson and Eastham, 1966;Thomson and Prescott, 1966;Schiødt et al., 1997). APAP at therapeutic doses is rapidly metabolized in the liver principally through glucuronidation and sulfation, and only a small portion is oxidized by cytochrome P-450 2E1 to generate a highly reactive and cytotoxic intermediate, N-acetyl-p-benzoquinoneimine (NAPQI), which is quickly conjugated by hepatic glutathione to yield a harmless water-soluble product, mercapturic acid (Lee et ABSTRACT -Acetaminophen (APAP) is a commonly used and effective analgesic and antipyretic agent. However, some patients encounter hepatotoxicity after repeated APAP dosing at therapeutic doses. In the present study, we focused on the nutritional state as one of the risk factors of APAP-induced chronic hepatotoxicity in humans and investigated the contribution of undernourishment to susceptibility to APAP-induced chronic hepatotoxicity using an animal model mimicking undernourished patients. Rats were divided into 2 groups: the ad libitum fed (ALF) and the restricted fed (RF) rats and were assigned to 3 groups (n = 8/group) for each feeding condition. The animals were given APAP at 0, 300 and 500 mg/kg for 99 days under each feeding condition. Plasma and urinary glutathione-related metabolites and liver function parameters were measured during the dosing period and hepatic glutathione levels were measured at the end of the dosing period. In the APAP-treated ALF rats hepatic glutathione levels were increased and hepatic function parameters were not changed, but in the APAP-treated RF rats hepatic glutathione levels were decreased at 500 mg/kg and hepatic function parameters were increased at 300 and 500 mg/kg. Moreover the urinary endogenous metabolite profile after long-term treatment with APAP in the ALF and RF rats was similar to that in human non-responders and responders to APAP-induced chronic hepatotoxicity, respectively. In conclusion, the RF rats were more sensitive to APAP-induced chronic hepatotoxicity than the ALF rats and were considered to be a useful model to estimate the contribution of the nutritional state of patients to APAP-induced chronic hepatotoxicity.

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Acyl CoA: diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) 1 is an enzyme that catalyzes the re-synthesis of triglycerides (TG) from free fatty acids and diacylglycerol. JTT-553 is a DGAT1 inhibitor and exhibits its pharmacological action (inhibition of re-synthesis of TG) in the enterocytes of the small intestine leading to suppression of a postprandial elevation of plasma lipids. After repeated oral dosing JTT-553 in rats and monkeys, plasma transaminase levels were increased but there were neither changes in other hepatic function parameters nor histopathological findings suggestive of hepatotoxicity. Based on the results of exploratory studies for investigation of the mechanism of the increase in transaminase levels, plasma transaminase levels were increased after dosing JTT-553 only when animals were fed after dosing and a main factor in the diet contributing to the increase in plasma transaminase levels was lipids. After dosing JTT-553, transaminase levels were increased in the small intestine but not in the liver, indicating that the origin of transaminase increased in the plasma was not the liver but the small intestine where JTT-553 exhibits its pharmacological action. The increase in small intestinal transaminase levels was due to increased enzyme protein synthesis and was suppressed by inhibiting fatty acid-transport to the enterocytes. In conclusion, the JTT-553-related increase in plasma transaminase levels is considered not to be due to release of the enzymes from injured cells into the circulation but to be phenomena resulting from enhancement of enzyme protein synthesis in the small intestine due to the pharmacological action of JTT-553 in this organ.