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Relationship: 1070
Title
Inhibition, UROD leads to Accumulation, Highly carboxylated porphyrins
Upstream event
Downstream event
AOPs Referencing Relationship
| AOP Name | Adjacency | Weight of Evidence | Quantitative Understanding | Point of Contact | Author Status | OECD Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aryl hydrocarbon receptor activation leading to uroporphyria | adjacent | Moderate | Moderate | Allie Always (send email) | Open for citation & comment | WPHA/WNT Endorsed |
Taxonomic Applicability
Sex Applicability
| Sex | Evidence |
|---|---|
| Unspecific | Not Specified |
Life Stage Applicability
| Term | Evidence |
|---|---|
| Adult | High |
Through the normal heme biosynthesis pathway, uroporphyrinogen is converted to coproporphyrinogen by uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase (UROD)[1]. In the event that UROD activity is reduced (due to genetic disorders or chemical inhibition) uroporphyrinogen, and other porphyrinogen substrates of UROD, are preferentially oxidized to highly stable porphyrins by the phase one metabolizing enzyme CYP1A2 (in mammals;CYP1A5 in birds)[2][3][4] . Uroporphyrin and hepta- and hexa-carboxylic acid porphyrins (highly carboxylated porphyrins)[5] accumulate in the liver, kidneys, spleen, skin and blood leading to a heme disorder known as porphyria [6][7].
| ID | Experimental Design | Species | Upstream Observation | Downstream Observation | Citation (first author, year) | Notes |
|---|
| Title | First Author | Biological Plausibility |
Dose Concordance |
Temporal Concordance |
Incidence Concordance |
|---|
Biological Plausibility
Dose Concordance Evidence
Temporal Concordance Evidence
Incidence Concordance Evidence
Uncertainties and Inconsistencies
Uroporphyrin accumulation in avian models is less consistently accompanied by decreased UROD activity, and when it does occur, it is less marked than in mammals[13][14]. Although numerous studies show both a decrease in UROD activity and porphyrin accumulation in avian species, Lambrecht et al.[14] reported the accumulation of porphyrins in chicken embryo hepatocytes and Japanese quail liver without a decrease in UROD activity. They also note that the modest reduction in UROD activity (often less than 50%) is not enough to explain the extent of porphyrin accumulation observed and suggests there may be another mechanism at play. Alternatively, the difference between avian and mammals in regard to UROD inhibition may lie in the time-course of the response rather than its mechanism[19].
Is it known how much change in the first event is needed to impact the second? Are there known modulators of the response-response relationships? Are there models or extrapolation approaches that help describe those relationships?
A reduction in UROD activity of at least 70% is required to achieve a makeable increase in hepatic porphyrins, in mammals.[15][16][17]
Response-response Relationship
Time-scale
Known Feedforward/Feedback loops influencing this KER
Induction of CYP1A2 increases its availability and consequently its ability to compete with UROD to oxidize uroporphyrinogen. At least one of these oxidation products is believed to be a competitive inhibitor of UROD. Therefore, UROD inhibition potentiates the oxidation of uroporphyrinogens by CYP1A2 to porphyrins leading to increased porphyrin accumulation and in turn UROD inhibition.
Chemical induces porphyrin accumulation has been demonstrated in, rats, mice and chicken[18][4][2]. Human porphyria cutanea tarda is also characterized biochemically by an increase in porphyrinogen oxidation leading to accumulation of porphyrins[15]. The correlation between reduced UROD activity and HCP accumulation in mammals is well defined[15][16][17] but is less consistent in avian models[14].