Ahmed Ghallab1, Géraldine Cellière2, Sebastian G Henkel3, Dominik Driesch3, Stefan Hoehme4, Ute Hofmann5, Sebastian Zellmer6, Patricio Godoy7, Agapios Sachinidis8, Meinolf Blaszkewicz7, Raymond Reif7, Rosemarie Marchan7, Lars Kuepfer9, Dieter Häussinger10, Dirk Drasdo11, Rolf Gebhardt6, Jan G Hengstler12. 1. Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors at the Technical University Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany; Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, South Valley University, Qena, Egypt. Electronic address: ghallab@ifado.de. 2. Sorbonne Universités, Inria, UPMC Univ Paris 06, Lab. J.L. Lions UMR CNRS 7598, Paris, France. 3. BioControl Jena GmbH, Jena, Germany. 4. Institute of Computer Science and Interdisciplinary Centre for Bioinformatics, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany. 5. Dr. Margarete Fischer-Bosch Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Stuttgart and University of Tuebingen, Germany. 6. Institute of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany. 7. Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors at the Technical University Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany. 8. Institute of Neurophysiology and Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, Robert-Koch-Str. 39, 50931 Cologne, Germany. 9. Computational Systems Biology, Bayer Technology Services GmbH, Leverkusen, Germany. 10. Clinic for Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Infectious Diseases, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf, Germany. 11. Sorbonne Universités, Inria, UPMC Univ Paris 06, Lab. J.L. Lions UMR CNRS 7598, Paris, France; Institute of Computer Science and Interdisciplinary Centre for Bioinformatics, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany. 12. Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors at the Technical University Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany. Electronic address: hengstler@ifado.de.
Abstract
BACKGROUND & AIMS: Recently, spatial-temporal/metabolic mathematical models have been established that allow the simulation of metabolic processes in tissues. We applied these models to decipher ammonia detoxification mechanisms in the liver. METHODS: An integrated metabolic-spatial-temporal model was used to generate hypotheses of ammonia metabolism. Predicted mechanisms were validated using time-resolved analyses of nitrogen metabolism, activity analyses, immunostaining and gene expression after induction of liver damage in mice. Moreover, blood from the portal vein, liver vein and mixed venous blood was analyzed in a time dependent manner. RESULTS: Modeling revealed an underestimation of ammonia consumption after liver damage when only the currently established mechanisms of ammonia detoxification were simulated. By iterative cycles of modeling and experiments, the reductive amidation of alpha-ketoglutarate (α-KG) via glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) was identified as the lacking component. GDH is released from damaged hepatocytes into the blood where it consumes ammonia to generate glutamate, thereby providing systemic protection against hyperammonemia. This mechanism was exploited therapeutically in a mouse model of hyperammonemia by injecting GDH together with optimized doses of cofactors. Intravenous injection of GDH (720 U/kg), α-KG (280 mg/kg) and NADPH (180 mg/kg) reduced the elevated blood ammonia concentrations (>200 μM) to levels close to normal within only 15 min. CONCLUSION: If successfully translated to patients the GDH-based therapy might provide a less aggressive therapeutic alternative for patients with severe hyperammonemia.
BACKGROUND & AIMS: Recently, spatial-temporal/metabolic mathematical models have been established that allow the simulation of metabolic processes in tissues. We applied these models to decipher ammonia detoxification mechanisms in the liver. METHODS: An integrated metabolic-spatial-temporal model was used to generate hypotheses of ammonia metabolism. Predicted mechanisms were validated using time-resolved analyses of nitrogen metabolism, activity analyses, immunostaining and gene expression after induction of liver damage in mice. Moreover, blood from the portal vein, liver vein and mixed venous blood was analyzed in a time dependent manner. RESULTS: Modeling revealed an underestimation of ammonia consumption after liver damage when only the currently established mechanisms of ammonia detoxification were simulated. By iterative cycles of modeling and experiments, the reductive amidation of alpha-ketoglutarate (α-KG) via glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) was identified as the lacking component. GDH is released from damaged hepatocytes into the blood where it consumes ammonia to generate glutamate, thereby providing systemic protection against hyperammonemia. This mechanism was exploited therapeutically in a mouse model of hyperammonemia by injecting GDH together with optimized doses of cofactors. Intravenous injection of GDH (720 U/kg), α-KG (280 mg/kg) and NADPH (180 mg/kg) reduced the elevated blood ammonia concentrations (>200 μM) to levels close to normal within only 15 min. CONCLUSION: If successfully translated to patients the GDH-based therapy might provide a less aggressive therapeutic alternative for patients with severe hyperammonemia.
Authors: Patricio Godoy; Wolfgang Schmidt-Heck; Birte Hellwig; Patrick Nell; David Feuerborn; Jörg Rahnenführer; Kathrin Kattler; Jörn Walter; Nils Blüthgen; Jan G Hengstler Journal: Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci Date: 2018-07-05 Impact factor: 6.237
Authors: Sven Sahle; Kai Breuhahn; Lilija Wehling; Liam Keegan; Paula Fernández-Palanca; Reham Hassan; Ahmed Ghallab; Jennifer Schmitt; Yingyue Tang; Maxime Le Marois; Stephanie Roessler; Peter Schirmacher; Ursula Kummer; Jan G Hengstler Journal: Elife Date: 2022-10-18 Impact factor: 8.713
Authors: Gisela H Degen; Jan G Hengstler; Ahmed Ghallab; Reham Hassan; Maiju Myllys; Wiebke Albrecht; Adrian Friebel; Stefan Hoehme; Ute Hofmann; Abdel-Latif Seddek; Albert Braeuning; Lars Kuepfer; Benedikt Cramer; Hans-Ulrich Humpf; Peter Boor Journal: Arch Toxicol Date: 2021-05-18 Impact factor: 5.153
Authors: James P Sluka; Xiao Fu; Maciej Swat; Julio M Belmonte; Alin Cosmanescu; Sherry G Clendenon; John F Wambaugh; James A Glazier Journal: PLoS One Date: 2016-09-16 Impact factor: 3.240