Chemistry Department

Dr Andres A. Caro

Andres Caro

Associate Professor of Chemistry

Office: Charles D. Morgan Center - Acxiom Hall 205
Research Lab: John H. Reynolds Hall 212
Phone: (501) 450-3869
Fax: (501) 450-3829
E-mail: caro@hendrix.edu
  • Ph.D., University of Buenos Aires
  • M.S., University of Buenos Aires
  • B.S., University of Buenos Aires

2016-2017 Courses

  • CHEM 330 01: Biological Chemistry
  • CHEM 330 02: Biological Chemistry
  • CHEM 330 L1: Biological Chemistry Lab
  • BCMB 499 01: Independent Research
  • BCMB 498 01: Independent Research
  • CHEM 450 01: Directed Research
  • CHEM 335 01: Advanced Biological Chemistry
  • CHEM 320 L1: Physical Chemistry Thermodynamics and Kinetics lab

Academic Background

    • 2013-present: Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, Hendrix College, Conway, AR.
    • 2007-2013: Tenure Track Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, Hendrix College, Conway, AR.
    • 2007-2011: Assistant Professor, Research Service, Little Rock Campus, Department of Veterans Affairs, Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System.
    • 2005-2007: Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Queens College, City University of New York, USA.
    • 2004-2007: Instructor, Department of Pharmacology and Biological Chemistry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY.
    • 2000-2004: Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Pharmacology and Biological Chemistry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY. Supervisor: Professor Arthur I. Cederbaum, Ph. D.
    • 1999: Ph. D. degree in Biophysics, School of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Supervisor: Dr. Susana Puntarulo.
    • 1994: Biochemist (Bachelor and Master’s degree in Biochemistry), School of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

      Research and Teaching Interests

      • Mitochondrial DNA damage in alcohol/CYP2E1-induced hepatotoxicity
      • Alterations in liver calcium homeostasis by CYP2E1 induction
      • Mechanisms of liver oxidative stress caused by drug metabolism

      Our laboratory is interested in studying the biochemical mechanisms by which alcoholic beverages produce liver damage. It is known that alcohol liver damage is associated with an impairment of the function of mitochondria, which is the powerhouse of the cell. In liver cells, alcohol interacts with a protein called cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1), the result of this interaction being an increased rate of oxidation of alcohol to acetaldehyde and toxic substances called free radicals. Our main hypothesis is that CYP2E1-derived free radicals react specifically with mitochondrial DNA, triggering mitochondrial damage and cell death. Molecules that specifically protect mitochondrial DNA from free radicals therefore could be a new therapeutic approach against alcoholic liver disease. To evaluate our hypothesis, we use cell fractions (endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria), cells (liver cells in culture) and experimental animals (mice), and analytical, biological and cellular chemistry techniques including HPLC, polarography, real time PCR, RT-PCR, ELISA, western blot, chemiluminescence, fluorimetry, spectrophotometry, flow cytometry, and fluorescence microscopy.

      External Grants and Awards

      • Arkansas- Idea Network for Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) Summer Research Grant, Role of mitochondrial CYP2E1 in hepatic mitochondrial DNA damage. May 2015-August 2015
      • Arkansas- Idea Network for Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) Shared Instrumentation Grant, Acquisition of an electronic paramagnetic resonance spectrometer MiniScope MS 5000. May 2015-April 2016.
      • National Science Foundation (NSF), Acquisition of a 400 MHz NMR spectrometer to enhance faculty and undergraduate research at Hendrix College (co-PI, with PI Tom Goodwin and co-PI Christopher Marvin). October 2010-October 2013.
      • National Institutes of Health (NIH)- Idea Network for Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) Grant, Role of mtDNA damage in alcohol- and CYP2E1- dependent toxicity. May 2010-May 2015.
      • Research Corporation Cottrell College Science Award, Reactive oxygen species and CYP2E1-dependent oxidation of mitochondrial DNA in liver cells. January 2009-January 2012.
      • Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) Travel Award. To attend the FASEB Summer Conference: Calcium and Cell Function, July 6-11 2008, Snowmass, Colorado.
      • Arkansas- Idea Network for Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) Summer Research Fellowship, Alcohol/CYP2E1- induced liver mitochondrial DNA damage. May 2008-August 2008.

      Recent Publications

      • Hartman JH, Martin HC, Caro AA, Pearce AR and Mille, GP (2015) Subcellular localization of rat CYP2E1 impacts metabolic efficiency toward common substrates. Toxicology, 338:47-58
      • Caro AA, Commissariat A, Dunn C, Kim H, Lorente Garcia S, Smith A, Strang H, Stuppy J, Desrochers LP and Goodwin TE (2015) Prooxidant and antioxidant properties of salicylaldehyde isonicotinoyl hydrazone iron chelators in HepG2 cells. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta: General Subjects 1850:2256-2264
      • Caro AA, Bell M, Ejiofor S, Zurcher G, Petersen DR and Ronis MJJ (2014) N-acetylcysteine inhibits the up-regulation of mitochondrial biogenesis genes in livers from rats fed ethanol chronically. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 38:2896-2906
      • Caro AA, Adlong LW, Crocker SJ, Gardner MW, Luikart EF and Gron LU (2012) Effect of garlic-derived organosulfur compounds on mitochondrial function and integrity in isolated mouse liver mitochondria. Toxicology Letters 214:166-174
      • Caro AA, Thompson S and Tackett J (2011) Increased oxidative stress and cytotoxicity by hydrogen sulfide in HepG2 cells overexpressing CYP2E1. Cell Biology and Toxicology DOI 10.1007/s10565-011-9198-2
      • Caro AA, Evans KL and Cederbaum AI (2009) CYP2E1 overexpression inhibits microsomal Ca2+-ATPase activity in HepG2 cells. Toxicology 255:171-176
      • Dey, A, Caro AA and Cederbaum AI (2007) S-adenosyl methionine protects ob/ob mice from CYP2E1 mediated liver injury. American Journal of Physiology: GI Liver Physiology 293:G91-103
      • Caro AA and Cederbaum AI (2007) Effect of calcium and phospholipase A2 in arachidonic acid-induced toxicity in liver cells overexpressing CYP2E1. Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics 457:252-263
      • Caro AA and Cederbaum AI (2006) Role of PI3 kinase/AKT as a survival pathway against CYP2E1 dependent toxicity. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics 318:360-372
      • Bishop DF, Johansson A, Phelps R, Shady AA, Ramirez MC, Yasuda M, Caro A, Desnick RJ (2006) Uroporphyrinogen III synthase knock-in mice have the human congenital erythropoietic porphyria phenotype, including the characteristic light-induced cutaneous lesions. American Journal of Human Genetics 78:645-658
      • Caro AA and Cederbaum AI (2006) Role of cytochrome P450 in phospholipase A2- and arachidonic acid-mediated cytotoxicity. Free Radical Biology & Medicine 40:364-375
      • Caro AA and Cederbaum AI (2005) Inhibition of CYP2E1 catalytic activity in vitro by S-adenosyl-L-methionine. Biochemical Pharmacology 69:1081-1093

      Recent Poster Presentations

      • Salvador Lorente-Garcia and Andres Caro.  Salicyladehyde isonicotinoyl hydrazone iron chelators induce the expression of g-glutamylcysteine synthetase in HepG2 cells. Arkansas INBRE Research Conference 2014, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, November 8, 2014.
      • Andres Caro, Grant Zurcher, Matt Bell, Shannon Ejiofor and Martin Ronis. N-acetylcysteine inhibits mitochondrial biogenesis in livers from rats fed ethanol chronically. NIH- NIGMS Fifth Biennial National IDEA Symposium of Biomedical Research Excellence, June 16-18 2014, Washington, DC.
      • Etienne Nzabarushimana and Andres Caro. Docosahexaenoic acid induces glutathione synthesis in HepG2 cells. 245th American Chemical Society National Meeting and Exposition,  New Orleans, LA, March 2013.
      • Johnny Tran and Andres Caro. Docosahexaenoic acid induces mitochondrial biogenesis in HepG2 cells. 245th American Chemical Society National Meeting and Exposition, New Orleans, LA, March 2013.
      • Spencer Sanson and Andres Caro. Effect of ethanol on mitochondrial DNA in HepG2 cells. 245th American Chemical Society National Meeting and Exposition, New Orleans, LA, March 2013.
      • Logan Rice and Andres Caro. CYP2E1 overexpression induces mitochondrial biogenesis in HepG2 cells. 245th American Chemical Society National Meeting and Exposition,New Orleans, LA, March 2013.
      • Andres Caro. CYP2E1 overexpression inhibits SERCA activity in HepG2 cells. FASEB Summer Research Conference: Calcium and Cell Function, Snowmass Village, CO, July 2008.
      • Kerry Evans and Andres Caro. CYP2E1 overexpression inhibits SERCA activity in HepG2 cells. 92nd Annual Meeting of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Henderson State University, Arkadelphia, AR, April 2008.

      Recent Oral Presentations

      • Etienne Nzabarushimana (presenter), Matthew Bell, Grant Chandler, Logan Rice, Spencer Sanson, Johnny Tran and Andres Caro. Oxidative stress from docosahexaenoic acid increases mitochondrial biogenesis and antioxidant protection in HepG2 cells. 2012 Arkansas INBRE Conference, Fayetteville, Arkansas, October 2012.
      • Andres Caro. CYP2E1 and oxidative stress-dependent mitochondrial DNA damage. University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Pharmacy Seminar Lecture Series, Little Rock, AR, USA, October 2009.
      • Andres Caro, Eric Joseph, Jonathan Tackett, Tyler Lewis, Kerry Evans and Alexei Basnakian. CYP2E1 overexpression causes an elevation of mtDNA content in HepG2 cells. 3rd BioNanoTox and Applications Research Conference, University of Arkasas Little Rock, Little Rock, AR, USA, October 2008.
      • Andres Caro and Arthur Cederbaum. PI3 kinase/AKT, a survival pathway against CYP2E1-dependent toxicity. 44th Annual Meeting of the Society of Toxicology, New Orleans, LA, USA, March 2005.

      Recent Reviews

      • Reviewer for Molecular Pharmacology, European Journal of Pharmacology, Free Radical Biology and Medicine, International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology, Current Diabetes Reviews, Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, Drug Metabolism and Disposition, Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Toxicology, Toxicology Letters.

      Links

      • Google Scholar: http://scholar.google.com. Google Scholar is a freely accessible web search engine that indexes the full text of scholarly literature across an array of publishing formats and disciplines.
      • PubMed:  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed. Pubmed is a free search engine for accessing the MEDLINE database of citations and abstracts of biomedical research articles.
      • The Journal of Biological Chemistry: http://www.jbc.org/. The Journal of Biological Chemistry (often abbreviated JBC) is a scientific journal founded in 1905 and published since 1925 by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. It publishes research in any area of biochemistry or molecular biology, both in print and online, weekly.
      • Free Radical Biology & Medicine: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/08915849. Free Radical Biology & Medicine is an international, interdisciplinary publication encompassing chemical, biochemical, physiological, pathological, pharmacological, toxicological and medical approaches to research on free radicals and oxidative biology.