Cytochrome P-450I Research Articles

Detection and Kinetic Characterization of a Highly Reactive Heme–Thiolate Peroxygenase Compound I

The extracellular heme-thiolate peroxygenase from Agrocybe aegerita (AaeAPO) has been shown to hydroxylate alkanes and numerous other substrates using hydrogen peroxide as the terminal oxidant. We describe the kinetics of formation and decomposition of AaeAPO compound I upon its reaction with mCPBA. The UV-vis spectral features of AaeAPO-I (361, 694 nm) are similar to those of chloroperoxidase-I and the recently described cytochrome P450-I. The second-order rate constant for AaeAPO-I formation was 1.0 (±0.4) × 10(7) M(-1) s(-1) at pH 5.0, 4 °C. The relatively slow decomposition rate, 1.4 (±0.03) s(-1), allowed the measurement of its reactivity toward a panel of substrates. The observed rate constants, k2', spanned 5 orders of magnitude and correlated linearly with bond dissociation enthalpies (BDEs) of strong C-H bond substrates with a log k2' vs BDE slope of ∼0.4. However, the hydroxylation rate was insensitive to a C-H BDE below 90 kcal/mol, similar to the behavior of the tert-butoxyl radical. The shape and slope of the Brønsted-Evans-Polanyi plot indicate a symmetrical transition state for the stronger C-H bonds and suggest entropy control of the rate in an early transition state for weaker C-H bonds. The AaeAPO-II Fe(IV)O-H BDE was estimated to be ∼103 kcal/mol. All results support the formation of a highly reactive AaeAPO oxoiron(IV) porphyrin radical cation intermediate that is the active oxygen species in these hydroxylation reactions.

In vitro studies on the metabolic fate of mifentidine, a novel histamine H2-receptor antagonist

The in vitro metabolism of mifentidine and several of its metabolites was studied using hepatic microsomes from seven animal species. The effects of potential enzyme inducers, inhibitors and activators were also studied. Mifentidine metabolites identified and characterised were: 4-imidazolylphenylamine (amine), 4-imidazolylphenyl-formamide (formamide), the urea derivative of mifentidine (urea) and the imidazole-hydroxylated derivative of the amine (i-OH-amine), along with three unidentified metabolites, M1, M2 and M3. Evidence for the presence of the amine, formamide, urea and i-OH-amine was obtained by comparison with authentic reference compounds: (i) HPLC retention times; (ii) UV spectra; and (iii) MS spectra of metabolites. The postulated intermediates are: carbinolimine (for formamide, amine, i-OH-amine and urea formation); formamide (for amine and i-OH-amine formation); amine (for i-OH-amine formation), and nitrone (for urea formation). One 'metabonate' of mifentidine was also identified, namely the nitro analogue of the amine. A possible prerequisite for the formation of this nitro is the corresponding hydroxylamine or nitroso compound. Cytochromes P450I and P450II were shown to be involved in the in vitro microsomal biotransformation of mifentidine, but the involvement of the flavin monooxygenase system was not proven.

38] Using molecular modeling and molecular dynamics simulation to predict P450 oxidation products

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the use of molecular modeling and molecular dynamics simulation to predict P450 oxidation products. The chapter overviews the application of computational methods to P450s and discusses the use of molecular dynamics simulations for the accurate assessment of oxidation specificity by P450 systems. It is observed that the substrates for the cytochromes P450I and P450II subfamilies cluster into two groups; substrates for the P450I subfamily are more planar in shape and exhibit smaller energy differences between the highest occupied and lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals (HOMO and LUMO, respectively) than the substrates for the P450II subfamily. Studies indicate that if due attention is given to ensure proper sampling of the important substrate conformations, accurate product profiles can be predicted for a number of reactions of P450, including hydroxylations, epoxidations, and sulfoxidations. Studies suggest that under appropriate conditions, many time-saving approximations such as the inclusion of little or no added explicit solvent or simulating the dynamics of only the substrate binding pocket can still lead to reliable results.

Expression and regulation of cytochrome P-450I genes ( CYP1A1 and CYP1A2) in the rat alimentary tract

Cytochrome P-450 (P450) enzymes in the mucosa of the alimentary tract may be involved in the activation and/or inactivation of ingested xenobiotics and procarcinogens. Since the multiple P450 enzymes have overlapping substrate specificities and, in some cases, similar antigenic determinants, definitive identification of P450 genes that are expressed in various tissues requires molecular analysis. In this study, a sensitive and specific polymerase chain reaction assay along with hybridization analysis was used to examine the expression of the CYP1A gene family in the rat alimentary tract. CYP1A1 mRNA was expressed throughout the alimentary tract in untreated rats, as determined by the polymerase chain reaction. However, Northern blot analysis detected β-naphthoflavone, CYP1A1 mRNA and enzymatic activity was markedly induced in each alimentary tissue including esophagus, fore-stomach, glandular stomach, small intestine and colon. A single dose of inducer resulted in a rapid rise in CYP1A1 mRNA which was shown by nuclear run-on assays to be primarily due to an increase in transcription of the CYP1A1 gene. CYP1A2 mRNA was detected in significant amounts only in glandular stomach following induction although the polymerase chain reaction assay identified low levels of CYP1A2 mRNA in several other tissues. The definitive identification of the CYP1A genes that are expressed in alimentary tissue will allow the design of experiments to investigate the importance of these enzymes in the metabolism of carcinogens, and ultimately carcinogenesis, in the gastrointestinal tract. In addition, these data suggest the the aromatic hydrocarbon receptor, which mediates transcriptional induction of multiple genes by xenobiotics, is expressed throught the alimentary tract.

Site-selective oxidation of strychnine by phenobarbital inducible cytochrome P-450.

The metabolism of strychnine was studied using liver microsomes of rats treated with phenobarbital or 3-methylcholanthrene (MC). The phenobarbital-treatment resulted in 7.9-fold and 4.8-fold increases in 2-hydroxylation and N-oxidation of strychnine, respectively. The formation of 16-hydroxystrychnine, strychnine 21,22-epoxide and 22-hydroxystrychnine was induced about 2-fold. MC-treatment resulted in only 1.4-fold induction of each oxidation activity. In addition, strychnine 2-hydroxylation activity was markedly induced in liver microsomes of phenobarbital-treated mice, guinea pigs, rabbits and dogs (2.5-10.5-fold). Induction of N-oxidation activity was also higher than that of the three other oxidation activities. A reconstituted system of strychnine metabolism using cytochrome P-450 isozymes, P-450I (P450IIB1) and P-450II (P450IIB2), purified from liver microsomes of phenobarbital-treated rats showed significantly high and selective activities towards 2-hydroxylation and N-oxidation of strychnine. This characteristic metabolism of strychnine appears to occur in common with interspecies P450IIB gene subfamily. The pH Optima of 2-hydroxylation and N-oxidation of strychnine were between 8.4 and 8.6 in the microsomes of phenobarbital-treated rats, while that of N-demethylation of benzphetamine, a typical substrate of phenobarbital-inducible cytochrome P-450, was between 7.4 and 7.6. In a reconstituted system with P-450I, strychnine oxidation was little affected by pH change, while benzphetamine N-demethylation activity was decreased in the alkaline side. Among several oxidations tested, only ethylmorphine N-demethylation underwent the same pH effect as did strychnine oxidation with the microsomes and reconstituted system.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Mechanism of clastogenic and co-clastogenic activity of cremophore with benzene hi mice

Cremophore E1 (CR), a frequently used solubilizer and emulsifier in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and animal-raising industries, is made up of ethylene oxide and castor oil. Since ethylene oxide has been shown to be a potent genotoxic agent, we have studied the clastogenic activity of CR and its co-clastogenic activity with benzene (BZ) in mice. Male CD1 mice were divided into untreated, vehicle control and experimental groups. Mice in the experimental groups were treated orally with 0.03, 0.3 or 3% CR in water, 440 mg/kg BZ in olive oil, BZ plus the three different doses of CR (1 h apart) or BZ plus 3% CR separated by 1, 3 and 5 h intervals. Mice were killed at 30 h after the treatment for the single-treatment groups and after the first treatment for the combined treatment groups. Bone marrow cells were harvested for determination of micronuclei (MN) frequencies in polychromatic erythrocytes (PCE). The presence of known genotoxic metabolites of benzene (phenol and trans,trans muconic acid) was quantitated in collected urine. The effect on hepatic cytochrome P450 isoenzyme expression in livers of treated mice were also analyzed. We found that CR did not induce any significant or dose-dependent increase in MN. However, CR enhanced the clastogenic activity of BZ in a dose-dependent manner (from 41.6 to 47.3, 60.5 and 67.1 MN/1000 PCE respectively; P less than 0.05). The combined treatment showed an inverse time-dependent change in MN frequencies when CR was administered at 1, 3 and 5 h after BZ (41.6 to 67.1, 43.4 and 42.0 MN/1000 PCE respectively). The enhancement effect of CR is apparently due to its ability to induce significantly the cytochrome P450I family when CR was administered 1 h after treatment with BZ. However, no positive synergistic effect was observed when the combined treatment intervals were extended to 3 and 5 h. Enhanced induction of these isoenzymes is correlated with increased metabolic activation of BZ to excrete increased amounts of trans,trans muconic acid, the putative active metabolite of BZ, in urine. Our integrated study demonstrates that an apparently innocuous agent that is consumed by the general population can enhance the genotoxic activity of a ubiquitous environmental carcinogen. The potential existence of this type of interaction in our daily lives is frequently overlooked and should be investigated.

A retrospective study of the molecular toxicology of benoxaprofen

The molecular and electronic structural characteristics of the hepatotoxic and phototoxic antirheumatic drug, benoxaprofen, indicate that it falls in the interface between the area of parametric space associated with substrates of cytochrome P450I and that associated with substrates of other cytochromes P450, combining fairly planar molecular geometry (area/depth 2 = 2.5) with relatively low activation energy ( ΔE = E(LEMO) − E(HOMO) = 12.0). Benoxaprofen may therefore be a substrate for cytochrome P450I so that, like many other P450I substrates, it may be oxygenated to a reactive intermediate, thereby causing hepatotoxicity. Benoxaprofen also has a molecular structure closely similar to that of clofibrate and may thus be a possible substrate for cytochrome P450IV and result in hepatic peroxisomal proliferation. The structural similarity of benoxaprofen with the furocoumarin, psoralen, is associated with its known phototoxicity. QSAR analysis of the acute toxicities and anti-inflammatory activities of 16 analogues of benoxaprofen has been undertaken to identify a drug candidate likely to have similar anti-inflammatory activity to benoxaprofen but with lower toxicity.

Xenobiotics and tropical chronic pancreatitis

The prevalence of chronic pancreatitis in tropical zones is far higher than in temperate zones, but there is no explanation for this difference. Detailed social, occupational, and dietary histories were taken from 79 patients attending two hospitals in Madras, South India. There were 53 apparently sporadic cases with both pancreatic calculi and diabetes; six apparently sporadic cases with noncalcific disease, usually with diabetes; four pairs of first-degree relatives with either calcific or noncalcific disease, with or without diabetes; and two families in which several members had one or another variant of the disease. Three trends emerged from these histories: 1. Regular exposure to a xenobiotic inducer of cytochromes P450I (smoke from cigarets, burning firewood, or vehicle emissions; a cooking oil composed of C18:2 fatty acids); 2. Concurrent exposure to a chemical that undergoes metabolic activation (petroleum products, notably kerosene fumes; cyanogenic glycosides; solvents; paint); and 3. Low intakes of micronutrients required to synthesize/refurbish glutathione. These trends, similar to those noted at Manchester, North West England, suggest a unifying template for tissue damage in chronic pancreatitis, namely, heightened but unmitigated oxidative detoxification reactions mediated by cytochromes P450. The higher prevalence of the disease in underprivileged communities of the tropics may reflect poorer dietary availability of micronutrient antioxidants.

The caffeine breath test and caffeine urinary metabolite ratios in the Michigan cohort exposed to polybrominated biphenyls: a preliminary study.

A field biochemical epidemiology study was conducted using the Michigan cohort consisting of 51 rural residents exposed to polybrominated biphenyls (PBB). The study had three major objectives: a) to determine the serum half-life of the major PBB congener, hexabromobiphenyl (HBB), in the human, b) to determine if the PBB-exposed subjects had elevated cytochrome P-450I function as determined by the caffeine breath test (CBT) and the caffeine urinary metabolite ratio (CMR), and c) to determine the applicability of the CBT and CMR in field studies. PBB serum levels were detected in 36 of the 51 PBB-exposed subjects. The serum half-life of HBB was determined by comparing the current serum HBB values to the subject's previous serum values obtained 5 to 8 years earlier. The median HBB half-life was 12 years (range 4-97 years). The CBT and CMR were elevated in the subjects exposed to PBBs as compared to the values obtained from urban nonsmokers and were similar to those found in adults who smoke. A gender effect was seen in the PBB-exposed subjects, the median CBT and CMR values of the females being lower than the values of males. There was a correlation between the CBT and the HBB serum values (r2 = 0.2, p = 0.01) but not between CMR and HBB serum values. The CBT and CMR were easily conducted in the field and appear to be useful metabolic probes of cytochrome P-450I activity in human environmental toxicology.

Expression and catalysis of sex-specific cytochrome P450 isozymes in rat liver

Research interest in the study of cytochromes P450 has recently been shifting to the characterization of "constitutively" expressed isozymes from that of the inducible forms. Several "constitutive" cytochrome P450 isozymes have been purified from rat liver including five immunochemically related proteins designated cytochromes P450f, P450g, P450h, P450i, and P450k. These hemoproteins have been identified as distinct isozymes on the basis of spectral, electrophoretic, and catalytic properties and NH2-terminal sequence analysis. Purification and immunoquantitation studies have indicated that these isozymes are expressed in a developmental as well as sex-related manner, and are relatively refractory to induction by xenobiotics. Cytochromes P450h and P450g are male-specific proteins, cytochrome P450i is a female-specific isozyme, while cytochromes P450f and P450k are present in both male and female adult rats. In addition, the expression of cytochrome P450g was shown to segregate into two phenotypes in outbred rats. Genetic studies utilizing inbred strains have indicated that the gene responsible for inheritance of high levels of cytochrome P450g is autosomal. Although considerable progress has been made in understanding the role of gonadal hormones and growth hormone in the hepatic regulation of cytochromes P450g, P450h, and P450i in particular, the physiological significance of the "constitutive" isozymes in the liver remains largely unresolved.

Biological activity of 2,4,8-trichlorodibenzofuran: promotion of rat liver foci and induction of cytochrome P-450-dependent monooxygenases

The biological activity of 2,4,8-trichlorodibenzofuran (2,4,8-TCDF) was tested using 2 endpoints: (a) the promotion of enzyme-altered, preneoplastic foci initiated by diethylnitrosamine (DEN) in livers of weanling female Sprague—Dawley rats; and (b) the induction of aryl hydrocarbon (benzo[ a][prynene) hydroxylase (AHH), a marker for cytochrome P-450I activity, in livers of adult female Sprague—Dawley rats and in H4IIEC3 rat hepatoma cells. When animals were treated with 200 or 500 mg/kg 2,4,8-TCDF 5 × weekly over 10 weeks after a single application of 10 mg/kg DEN, the higher dose of 2,4,8-TCDF had a promoting effect on the appearance of preneoplastic foci. Thus number and total area of foci deficient in adenosine-5′-triphosphate were significantly increased by a factor of 1.6. 2,4,8-TCDF induced AHH-activities in 9000 × g supernatants of liver 2—-fold, when rats were treated with 100–1000 mg/kg/day for 5 days and monooxygenase activities determined after another 3 days. The amounts of 2,4,8-TCDF required for inducing AHH activity in H4IIEC3 cells were 7 orders of magnitude higher than those of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo- p-dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD). The results indicate that the 2,4,8-TCDF has a biological activity which is extremely low compared to that of 2,3,7,8-TCDD.

V79 Chinese hamster cells express cytochrome P-450 activity after simultaneous exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and aminophylline

V79 Chinese hamster lung cells expressed low but significant aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase activities when treated with an inducer of cytochrome P-450I, such as benz[ a]anthracene or 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodi-benzo- p-dioxin (TCDD), together with aminophylline. Inducibility by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and inhibition by a specific monoclonal antibody indicated that the observed enzyme activity was mediated by cytochrome P-450I. Intact V79 cells pretreated with TCDD and aminophylline for 24 h metabolized benzo[ a]pyrene to phenolic products which accumulated linearly in the growth medium for at least the same time period. Exposure of V79 cells to 10 μM benzo[ a]pyrene and aminophylline for 72 h reduced subsequent cell growth by about 40%. The results demonstrate that V79 cells, under specific conditions, express PAH-inducible cytochrome P-450I and are capable of activating benzo[ a]pyrene to cytotoxic products.

Purification of two isozymes of rat liver microsomal cytochrome P450 with testosterone 7α-hydroxylase activity

Cytochrome P450a was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity from liver microsomes from immature male Long-Evans rats treated with Aroclor 1254. Rabbit polyclonal antibody raised against cytochrome P450a cross-reacted with cytochromes P450b, P450e, and P450f (which are structurally related to cytochrome P450a). The cross-reacting antibodies were removed by passing anti-P450a over an N-octylamino-Sepharose column containing these heterologous antigens. The immunoabsorbed antibody recognized only a single protein (i.e., cytochrome P450a) in liver microsomes from immature male rats treated with Aroclor 1254 (i.e., the microsomes from which cytochrome P450a was purified). However, the immunoabsorbed antibody recognized three proteins in liver microsomes from mature male rats, as determined by Western immunoblot. As expected, one of these proteins ( M r 48,000) corresponded to cytochrome P450a. The other two proteins did not correspond to cytochromes P450b, P450e, or P450f (as might be expected if the antibody were incompletely immunoabsorbed), nor did they correspond to cytochromes P450c, P450d, P450g, P450h, P450i, P450j, P450k, or P450p. One of these proteins was designated cytochrome P450m ( M r ~49,000), the other cytochrome P450n ( M r ~50,000). Like cytochrome P450a, cytochrome P450n was present in liver microsomes from both male and female rats. However, whereas cytochrome P450a was detectable in liver microsomes from 1-week-old rats, cytochrome P450n was barely detectable until the rats were at least 3 weeks old. Furthermore, in contrast to cytochrome P450a, the levels of cytochrome P450n did not decline appreciably with age in postpubertal male rats. Cytochrome P450m was detectable only in liver microsomes from postpubertal (>4 week-old) male rats. Cytochromes P450m and P450n were isolated from liver microsomes from mature male rats and purified to remove cytochrome P450a. When reconstituted with NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase and lipid, cytochrome P450n exhibited little testosterone hydroxylase activity, whereas cytochrome P450m catalyzed the 15α-, 18-, 6β-, and 7α-hydroxylations of testosterone at 10.8, 4.6, 2.0, and 1.9 nmol/nmol P450/min, respectively. The ability of cytochrome P450m to catalyze the 7α-hydroxylation of testosterone was not due to contamination with cytochrome P450a, which catalyzed this reaction at ~25 nmol/nmol P450a/min. Cytochrome P450m also converted testosterone to several minor metabolites, including androstenedione and 15β-, 14α-, and 16α-hydroxytestosterone. The identity of the metabolites formed by cytochrome P450m was based on cochromatography with authentic standards resolved by HPLC. Cytochromes P450a and P450m had identical N-terminal amino acid sequences for the first 20 residues, except that residue 19 was leucine in cytochrome P450a but phenylalanine in cytochrome P450m. This high degree of amino acid sequence homology explains in part the immunochemical relatedness of cytochromes P450a and P450m. The results of this study indicate that cytochromes P450a, P450m, and P450n are immunochemically related proteins present in rat liver microsomes, and that two of these proteins, namely cytochromes P450a and P450m, are structurally related isozymes that can catalyze the 7α-hydroxylation of testosterone. The results of this study also indicate that cytochromes P450a, P450m, and P450n are independently regulated as a function of the age and sex of rats.

Effect of a Prudhoe Bay crude oil on hepatic and renal peroxisomal beta-oxidation and mixed-function oxidase activities in rats.

The effect of oral administration of a Prudhoe Bay crude oil (PBCO) to male rats (PBCO, 2.6 g/kg body weight, daily) for 5-12 days on hepatic and renal microsomal monooxygenase activities and peroxisomal beta-oxidation has been investigated. PBCO administration leads to liver enlargement. This is associated with induction of microsomal cytochrome P-450 levels (1.6- to 2.0-fold) and dependent mixed-function oxidase activities (7-ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase and 7-pentoxyresorufin-O-depentylase, representing cytochrome P-450I and cytochrome P-450IIB isoenzymes respectively, 9- to 15-fold; omega-oxidation of lauric acid representing the cytochrome P-450IVA1 isoenzyme, 1.4- to 1.5-fold) along with peroxisomal beta-oxidation (palmitoyl CoA oxidation, 2- to 5-fold). It was observed that rats exposed to PBCO showed an increase in renal microsomal cytochrome P-450 content (1.6- to 2.3-fold), cytochrome P-450I activity (5- to 8-fold) and omega-oxidation activity (1.3- to 1.4-fold). However, renal peroxisomal beta-oxidation was unaltered. Serum total triglycerides were lowered by 41-46% after PBCO exposure. These results suggest that induction of peroxisomal beta-oxidation and possibly mono-oxygenases may be related to the carcinogenic/tumorigenic potential of crude oil.

Induction of the rat hepatic microsomal mixed-function oxidases by two aza-arenes: A comparison with their non-heterocyclic analogues

The ability of the aza-aromatic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons 10-azobenz( a)pyrene and benz( a) acridine to induce the rat hepatic microsomal mixed-function oxidases was compared to that of their non-heterocyclic analogues benz( a) pyrene and benz( a) anthracene respectively. All four hydro-carbons markedly increased the O-deethylations of ethoxyresorufln and ethoxycoumarin, the non-heterocyclic analogues being the more potent. A more modest increase was seen in the O-dealkylation of pentoxyresorufin. All four hydrocarbons induced proteins recognised by antibodies to cytochrome P-450aIAI but no increase was seen when antibodies to cytochrome P-450IIB1 were employed. The metabolic activation of benz( a)pyrene and Glu-P-1 to mutagenic intermediates in the Ames test was enhanced by all pretreatments. It is concluded that the aza-aromatic polycyclic hydrocarbons, like their non-heterocyclic analogues, selectively induce the cytochrome P-450I family of proteins.

Regioselective progesterone hydroxylation catalyzed by eleven rat hepatic cytochrome P-450 isozymes

Quantitative high-pressure liquid chromatographic assays were developed that separate progesterone and 17 authentic monohydroxylated derivatives. The assays were utilized to investigate the hydroxylation of progesterone by 11 purified rat hepatic cytochrome P-450 isozymes and 8 different rat hepatic microsomal preparations. In a reconstituted system, progesterone was most efficiently metabolized by cytochrome P-450h followed by P-450g and P-450b. Seven different monohydroxylated progesterone metabolites were identified. 16 alpha-Hydroxyprogesterone, formed by 8 of the 11 isozymes, was the only detectable metabolite formed by cytochromes P-450b and P-450e. 2 alpha-Hydroxyprogesterone was formed almost exclusively by cytochrome P-450h, and 6 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone and 7 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone were only formed by P-450a. 6 beta-hydroxylation of progesterone was catalyzed by four isozymes with cytochrome P-450g being the most efficient, and 15 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone was formed as a minor metabolite by cytochromes P-450g, P-450h, and P-450i. None of the isozymes catalyzed 17 alpha-hydroxylation of progesterone, and only cytochrome P-450k had detectable 21-hydroxylase activity. 16 alpha-Hydroxylation catalyzed by cytochrome P-450b was inhibited in the presence of dilauroylphosphatidylcholine (1.6-80 microM), while this phospholipid either stimulated (up to 3-fold) or had no effect on the metabolism of progesterone by the other purified isozymes. Results of microsomal metabolism in conjunction with antibody inhibition experiments indicated that cytochromes P-450a and P-450h were the sole 7 alpha- and 2 alpha-hydroxylases, respectively, and that P-450k or an immunochemically related isozyme contributed greater than 80% of the 21-hydroxylase activity observed in microsomes from phenobarbital-induced rats.

Age- and sex-related expression of cytochromes P450f and P450g in rat liver

We have previously shown that rat hepatic cytochromes P450f, P450g, P450h, and P450i possess a high degree of immunochemical and, presumably, structural relatedness. Polyclonal antibodies directed against cytochromes P450f and P450g were made monospecific by immunoabsorption against the cross-reactive proteins. The specificity of the immunoabsorbed antibodies was established by using Ouchterlony double diffusion analyses, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), and immunoblots. Since factors regulating the expression of cytochromes P450fand P450g are unknown, a competitive ELISA employing the monospecific antibodies was developed to quantitate each of these isozymes in hepatic microsomes from control and treated rats. The results obtained showed that expression of cytochrome P450f is developmentally regulated in both male and female rat liver. Cytochrome P450f levels rise from less than 1% in young animals to approximately 7 and 14% of total cytochrome P450 in adult male and female rats, respectively. Cytochrome P450g is sex-specific since it is expressed only in male rat liver where it also is developmentally regulated. Levels of cytochrome P450g rise from less than 1% in 3-week-old male rats to an average value of 17% of total cytochrome P450 in 6-week-old adult animals. However, there appear to be at least two subpopulations of adult male Long Evans rats, one of which expresses low levels (<1%) of cytochrome P450g and the other high levels (⩾10%). This expression appears to be independent of serum testosterone levels. Treatment of immature and adult male rats with 20 xenobiotics that are known inducers of certain cytochrome P450 isozymes revealed that cytochromes P450f and P450g are relatively refactory to induction, although Kepone appears to be a weak inducer of cytochrome P450f.

Evidence for a family of four immunochemically related isozymes of cytochrome P-450 purified from untreated rats

Hepatic microsomal cytochromes P-450f, P-450g, P-450h, and P-450i have recently been purified to electrophoretic homogeneity from untreated adult rats and identified as distinct isozymes [Ryan et al. (1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259, 1239–1250; Haniu et al. (1984) Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 235, 304–311]. In Ouchterlony double-diffusion plates, as well as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and Western blots, purified immunoglobulin G (IgG) raised in rabbits against cytochromes P-450f or P-450g show strong cross-reactions with the heterologous protein, indicating apparent partial identity. Anti- P-450f and anti- P-450g also show strong cross-reactivity with cytochromes P-450h and P-450i but not with five previously characterized rat hepatic cytochromes, P-450 (i.e., P-450a- P-450e), indicating a high degree of immunochemical and structural relatedness among cytochromes P-450f, P-450g, P-450h, and P-450i.

Pulmonary Cytochromes P-450 from Rabbits Treated with Phenobarbital

Pretreatment of rabbits with phenobarbital caused significant increases in total pulmonary cytochrome P-450 content, benzo(a)pyrene hydroxylase and 7-ethoxycoumarin O-deethylase activities and to a lesser extent in benzphetamine N-demethylase activity in lung microsomes. However, 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase activity was not significantly altered. In addition, the pulmonary concentration of the cytochrome P-450-metyrapone complex was increased significantly. Column chromatography of the pulmonary monooxygenases demonstrated that in untreated and phenobarbital-treated rabbits, cytochromes P-450I and P-450II constituted the major forms of cytochrome P-450 isozymes. In addition, the chromatographic studies showed that pretreatment with phenobarbital caused an increase in the content of cytochrome P-450I, but not of cytochrome P-450II. These observations were confirmed by subjecting the pulmonary cytochromes to gel electrophoresis, and staining of the gels for protein and heme.

NH 2-terminal sequence analyses of four rat hepatic microsomal cytochromes P-450 1

Cytochromes P-450f, P-450g, P-450h, and P-450i are four hepatic microsomal hemoproteins that have been purified from adult rats. Whereas cytochromes P-450g and P-450h appear to be male-specific hemoproteins, cytochrome P-450i is apparently a female-specific enzyme purified from untreated adult female rats. Cytochrome P-450f has been purified from adult male and female rats with equivalent recoveries. Amino-terminal sequence analyses of the first 15–20 amino acid residues of each of these cytochromes P-450 has been accomplished in the current investigation. Each protein possesses a hydrophobic leader sequence consisting of 65–87% hydrophobic amino acids, and only one charged amino acid (Asp) in the ammo-terminal region. Although differences in the amino-terminal sequences of cytochromes P-450f, P-450g, P-450h, and P-450i are identified, these hemoproteins all begin with Met-Asp, and marked structural homology is observed among certain of these enzymes. Cytochromes P-450g and P-450h, two male-specific proteins, have 11–12/15 identical residues with cytochrome P-450i, a female-specific isozyme. Cytochromes P-450f and P-450h have 16/20 identical amino-terminal residues. Only limited sequence homology is observed between the amino-terminal sequences of cytochromes P-450f-i compared to rat liver cytochromes P-450a-e. The results demonstrate that cytochromes P-450f, P-450g, P-450h, and P-450i are isozymic to each other and five additional rat hepatic microsomal cytochrome P-450 isozymes ( P-450a-e).