Liver and Endocrine Pharmacology

Current Topics:

  • How does the liver regenerate itself following diseases such as Hepatitis?
  • How does the liver-derived insulin sensitizing substance contribute to type 2 diabetes?
  • How does abnormal collagen deposition in liver lead to cirrhosis?
  • What is the role of GABA in liver regeneration? 
  • What are the mechanisms of gastrointestinal ulcer formation?
  • How are lipophilic drugs transported into liver cells, and what is the influence of binding proteins?

Faculty Involved:

 Frank Burczynski, Ph.D.   burczyn@cc.umanitoba.ca
 Gary Glavin, Ph.D.    glavin@cc.umanitoba.ca
 W. Wayne Lautt, Ph.D.   wlautt@cc.umanitoba.ca
 Gerald Y. Minuk, M.D. 

  gerald.minuk@med.umanitoba.ca

Representative Publications (last 4 years):

2010
Lautt, W.W., Ming Z, and Legare, D.J. 2010. Attenuation of age- and sucrose-induced insulin resistance and syndrome X by a synergistic antioxidant cocktail: the AMIS syndrome and HISS hypothesis. Canadian Oxidative Stress Consortium Paper.  Can. J. Physiol. Pharmacol. 88: 313-323.

Lautt, W.W. 2010. Hepatic Circulation: Physiology and Pathophysiology.  Colloquium Series on Integrated Systems Physiology: From Molecule to Function #1. Eds: D.N. Granger and J. Granger, Morgan and Claypool Life Sciences Publishers, Princeton, NJ, USA.   Schafer, J., Legare, D.J., and Lautt, W.W. 2010. Acetylcholinesterase antagonist potentiated insulin action in fed but not fasted state. JPET 333: 621-628.   Afonso, R.A., Lautt, W.W., Schafer, J., Legare, D.J., Oliveira, A.G., and Macedo, M.P. 2010. High-fat diet results in postprandial insulin resistance that involves parasympathetic dysfunction. Br. J. Nutr. doi: 10.1017/S0007114510002400

2009
Ming, Z., Legare, D.J., and Lautt, W.W. 2009. Obesity, syndrome X, and diabetes: the role of HISS-dependent insulin resistance altered by sucrose, an antioxidant cocktail, and age. Can. J. Physiol. Pharmacol. 87: 873-882.

Lautt, W.W. and Ming Z. 2010. Use of an antioxidant cocktail for insulin resistance associated with age and a high sugar diet: a hepatic mechanism. In: Nutrition, Diet Therapy, and the Liver. Eds: V.R. Preedy, R. Srirajaskanthan, R. Lakshman, and R.R. Watson. Taylor and Francis, CRC Press, London, Chapter 21, pp.319-333.

Lautt, W.W. and Ming Z. 2009. Use of an antioxidant cocktail for insulin resistance associated with age and a high sugar diet: a hepatic mechanism. In: Nutrition, Diet Therapy, and the Liver. Eds: V.R. Preedy, R. Srirajaskanthan, R. Lakshman, and R.R. Watson. Taylor and Francis, CRC Press, London, Chapter 21, pp.319-333. 

2008
Lautt, W.W., Ming, Z., Macedo, M.P. and Legare, D.J. 2008. HISS-dependent insulin resistance (HDIR) in aged rats is associated with adiposity, progresses to syndrome X, and is attenuated by a unique antioxidant cocktail. Exp. Gerontol. 43: 790-800.

Patarrao, R.S., Lautt, W.W., Guarino, M.P., Afonso, R.A., Ribeiro, R.T.,   Fernandes, A.B., Boavida, J.M., and Macedo, M.P. 2008. Meal-induced insulin sensitization (MIS) and its parasympathetic regulation in humans. Can. J. Physiol. Pharmacol. 86: 880-888.

2007
Taylor, W.A., Legare, D., Lautt, W.W., and Hatch, G.M. 2007. Regulation of cardiac mitochondrial monolysocardiolipin acyltransferase activity and expression during development and in fetal alcohol syndrome. Proc. West. Pharmacol. Soc. 50: 115-118.

Patarrao, R.S., Lautt, W.W., Guarino, M.P., Afonso, R.A., Ribeiro, R.T., Fernandes, A.B., Boavida, J.M., and Macedo, M.P. 2007. A new technique to assess insulin sensitivity in humans: the rapid insulin sensitivity test (RIST). Proc. West. Pharmacol. Soc. 50 105-109.

Afonso, R.A., Lautt, W.W., Ribeiro, R.T., Legare, D.J., and Macedo, M.P. 2007. Insulin resistance in two animal models of obesity: a comparison of HISS-dependent and HISS-independent insulin action in high-fat diet-fed and Zucker rats.  Proc. West. Pharmacol. Soc. 50: 110-114.

2006
De Kaita K, Wong S, Renner E, Minuk GY.  Treatment outcomes in a centralized specialty clinic for hepatitis C virus are comparable with those from clinical trials. Can J Gastroenterol. 2006;20(2):87-90.

Fan J, Shen H, Sun Y, Li P, Burczynski F, Namaka M, Gong Y.  Bone morphogenetic protein 4 mediates bile duct ligation induced liver fibrosis through activation of Smad1 and ERK1/2 in rat hepatic stellate cells. J Cell Physiol. 2006;207(2):499-505.

Ming Z, Fan YJ, Yang X, Lautt WW.  Contribution of hepatic adenosine A1 receptors to renal dysfunction associated with acute liver injury in rats. Hepatology. 2006;44(4):813-22.

Ming Z, Fan YJ, Yang X, Lautt WW.  Synergistic protection by S-adenosylmethionine with vitamins C and E on liver injury induced by thioacetamide in rats. Free Radic Biol Med. 2006;40(4):617-24.

Moser MJ, Gong Y, Zhang MN, Lipschitz J, Cohen A, Minuk GY.  The effects of colectomy on immediate-early proto-oncogene expression and hepatic regeneration in the rat. Dig Dis Sci. 2006;51(7):1179-82.

Osiowy C, Giles E, Tanaka Y, Mizokami M, Minuk GY.  Molecular evolution of hepatitis B virus over 25 years. J Virol. 2006;80(21):10307-14.

Rajaraman G, Wang GQ, Yan J, Jiang P, Gong Y, Burczynski FJ.  Role of cytosolic liver fatty acid binding protein in hepatocellular oxidative stress: effect of dexamethasone and clofibrate treatment. Mol Cell Biochem. 2006 Aug 19; [Epub ahead of print]

Schoen Smith JM, Lautt WW.  Nitric oxide and prostaglandins potentiate the liver regeneration cascade. Can J Gastroenterol. 2006;20(5):329-34.

Ting JW, Lautt WW.  The effect of acute, chronic, and prenatal ethanol exposure on insulin sensitivity. Pharmacol Ther. 2006;111(2):346-73.

Zhang M, Gong Y, Corbin I, Minuk GY.  The Effects of Light and Moderate-Heavy Ethanol Exposure on the Development of Cirrhosis in Rats. Dig Dis Sci. 2006; [Epub ahead of print]