Electrochemistry of cytochromes P450: Analysis of current-voltage characteristics of electrodes with immobilized cytochromes P450 for the screening of substrates and inhibitors

In the current study, an approach to elucidating the substrate specificity of cytochromes P450 based on the analysis of current-voltage characteristics of voltammograms and amperograms is proposed. Data on the electrochemical behavior of bioelectrodes with immobilized cytochromes P450 2B4, 1A2, 3A4, 11A1 (P450scc), and 51b1 (Mycobacterium tuberculosis sterol 14α-demethylase or CYP51 MT) in the presence of typical substrates and inhibitors for these hemoprotein forms are reported. Immobilization of the enzymes was accomplished by using graphite screen-printed electrodes modified with gold nanoparticles and with the synthetic membrane-like compound didodecyldimethylammonium bromide. The method of electro-analysis can be applied to the search of potential substrates and inhibitors of cytochromes P450 and to creation of multichannel electrochemical plates (chips, panels) with immobilized cytochromes P450. Published in Russian in Biokhimiya, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 4, pp. 542–549.     

Electrochemical properties of cytochroms P450 using nanostructured electrodes: direct electron transfer and electro catalysis

The present study demonstrates direct electron transfer between cytochromes P450 2B4 (CYP2B4), P450 1A2 (CYP1A2), sterol 14alpha-demethylase (CYP51b1) on the one hand and screen-printed graphite electrodes, modified with gold nanoparticles and didodecyldimethylammonium bromide (DDAB) on the other. Electro detection of heme proteins was possible when 2-200 pmol P450/electrode were adsorbed on the surface of nanostructured electrochemical interfaces. Electron transfer, direct electrochemical reduction and interaction with P450 substrates (oxygen, benzphetamine, and lanosterol) and with P450 inhibitor (ketoconazole) were analyzed using cyclic voltammetry (CV), square wave voltammetry (SWV) differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), and amperometry.     

微生物细胞色素P450与胆固醇的生物代谢

细胞色素P450(CYP450)是一类含亚铁血红素的单加氧酶,广泛存在于各类生物体内,参与多种外源物质的代谢和内源物质的转化,如甾类激素、胆汁酸、胆固醇等的代谢。胆固醇是一种环戊烷多氢菲的衍生物,也是人类重要的脂类物质和许多特殊生物活性物质的前体之一,当其过量时会导致高胆固醇血症、动脉粥样硬化、静脉血栓生成等,对机体产生不利的影响。微生物CYP450酶可催化胆固醇的生物代谢,特别是其中的CYP125酶是胆固醇分解代谢起始的关键酶,可用作调节胆固醇代谢的药物靶标。     

Sunflower cDNA Encoding New Cytochrome P450

The primary structure of the cDNA clone SF28 was determined in sunflower (Helianthus annuusL.) flowers. The clone comprises a 874-bp insert corresponding to 227 amino acid residues of the C-terminal part of the cytochrome P450 gene. The sunflower cytochrome P450 was considerably different from the already known plant and animal cytochromes P450.     

New findings in studies of cytochromes P450

Cytochromes P450 represent a numerous family of heme-containing enzymes belonging to the group of monooxygenases. In prokaryotes, cytochromes P450 usually perform a plastic function, whereas in eukaryotes their functions are very diverse. Mammalian cytochromes P450 are components of membranes and are involved in biosynthesis and metabolism of many physiologically active substances; moreover, these cytochromes are unique in their ability to catalyze biotransformation of xenobiotics, i.e. metabolize substances of foreign origin (drugs, toxins, environmental pollutants). The latter promotes elimination of xenobiotics, but sometimes intermediates of their metabolism are even more toxic and dangerous than the original xenobiotics per se. Some catalytic features of cytochromes P450 still need unambiguous explanation, i.e. broad substrate specificity, diversity of catalytic reactions, and unusual kinetics. Under some conditions, cytochromes P450 can produce reactive oxygen species, and this is another problem attracting increasing attention. In this respect, a recent finding in mitochondria of analogs of microsomal cytochromes P450 seems especially intriguing; it was postulated that P450 can be responsible for mitochondrial dysfunction, cell apoptosis, and pathogenesis of some diseases. In this paper the present state of the art concerning these problems is considered.     

Productive and non-productive complexes in cytochrome P450-containing systems

The equilibrium dissociation constants K_D, the complex association / dissociation rate constants (k _on /k _off) and lifetimes of the complexes of redox partners were measured for three cytochrome P450-containing monooxygenase systems (P450cam, P450scc, and P450 2B4) under hydroxylation conditions. The Q parameter representing the ratio of protein-protein complex lifetime (τ _lT ) to time required for a single hydroxylation cycle (τ_turnover) was introduced for estimation of productivity of complexes formed within the systems studied. The Q parameter was insignificantly changed upon transition from the oxidation to hydroxylation conditions. Lifetimes (τ _lT ) for the binary complexes formed within the P450cam and the P450scc systems obligatory requiring an intermediate electron transfer protein between the reductase and cytochrome P450 could not realize hydroxylation reactions for substrates with known τ_turnover and so they were non-productive while the binary complexes formed within the P450 2B4 system, not requiring such intermediate electron-transfer protein, appeared to be productive. Formation of ternary complexes was demonstrated under hydroxylation conditions in all three systems. Analysis of Q values led to the conclusion that the ternary complexes formed within the P450cam and the P450scc systems were productive. In the case of the P450 2B4 system, more than half (about 60%) ternary complexes were also found to be productive.     

A Link between cholesterol levels and phenobarbital induction of cytochromes P450

Squalestatin1 (SQ1), a potent inhibitor of squalene synthase produced a dose-dependent induction of cytochromes P450 CYP2H1 and CYP3A37 mRNAs in chicken hepatoma cells. The effect of SQ1 was completely reversed by 25-hydroxycholesterol. Bile acids elicited an induction of CYP3A37 and CYP2H1 mRNA. Bile acids also reduced the phenobarbital induction of CYP2H1 but not of CYP3A37 mRNA. The effects of SQ1 and its reversal by 25-hydroxycholesterol and the effects of bile acids were reproduced in reporter gene assays with a phenobarbital-responsive enhancer unit of CYP2H1. These data suggest that an endogenous molecule related to cholesterol homeostasis regulates induction of drug-inducible CYPs.     

昆虫细胞色素P450研究的一些新进展

报道了有关细胞色素P45 0研究的一些新发现。果蝇和冈比亚按蚊基因组测序的完成 ,使人类对昆虫P45 0的多样性有一完整的概念 ,已查明果蝇和冈比亚按蚊基因组中分别含有 90种和 1 1 1种P45 0基因。P45 0介导的果蝇对DDT的抗性被证明是Cyp6g1基因超量表达的结果。昆虫可以窃听植物分子信号 (水杨酸、茉莉酮酸 ) ,通过P45 0的诱导机制增强自身对植物防御物质的反防御能力。从分子水平上鉴定了 2个参与蜕皮素合成的线粒体P45 0基因。细胞色素P45 0在昆虫信息素降解中的作用得到鉴定。     

cytochrome p450 superfamily in Arabidopsis thaliana: isolation of cDNAs,Differential Expression,and RFLP mapping of multiple cytochromes P450

We have isolated multiple cDNAs encoding cytochromes P450 (P450s) from Arabidopsis thaliana employing a PCR strategy. Degenerate oligonucleotide primers were designed from amino acid sequences conserved between two plant P450s, CYP71A1 and CYP73A2, including the heme-binding site and the proline-rich motif found in the N-terminal region, and 11 putative P450 fragments were amplified from first-strand cDNA from 7-day-old Arabidopsis as a template. With these PCR fragments as hybridization probes, 13 full-length and 3 partial cDNAs encoding different P450s have been isolated from an Arabidopsis cDNA library. These P450s have been assigned to either one of the established subfamilies: CYP71B, CYP73A, and CYP83A; or novel subfamilies: CYP76C, CYP83B, and CYP91A. The primary protein structures predicted from the cDNA sequences revealed that the regions around both the heme-binding site and the proline-rich motif were highly conserved among all these P450s. The N-terminal structures of the predicted P450 proteins suggested that these Arabidopsis P450s were located at the endoplasmic reticulum membrane. The loci of four P450 genes were determined by RFLP mapping. One of the clones, CYP71B2, was located at a position very close to the ga4 and gai mutations. RNA blot analysis showed expression patterns unique to each of the P450s in terms of tissue specificity and responsiveness to wounding and light/dark cycle, implicating involvement of these P450s in diverse metabolic processes.     

Cytochrome P450 biosensors-a review

Cytochrome P450 (CYP) is a large family of enzymes containing heme as the active site. Since their discovery and the elucidation of their structure, they have attracted the interest of scientist for many years, particularly due to their catalytic abilities. Since the late 1970s attempts have concentrated on the construction and development of electrochemical sensors. Although sensors based on mediated electron transfer have also been constructed, the direct electron transfer approach has attracted most of the interest. This has enabled the investigation of the electrochemical properties of the various isoforms of CYP. Furthermore, CYP utilized to construct biosensors for the determination of substrates important in environmental monitoring, pharmaceutical industry and clinical practice.     

植物细胞色素P450

对植物细胞色素P450(CYP450)基因的分离,植物CYP450在苯丙烷类物质、芥子油苷及IAA和萜类等物质的生物合成中的功能,以及对天然生物合成与人工合成物质的解毒功能等研究进展作了简要的综述。指出分离植物细胞色素P450基因,并对其生物学功能进行分析以及植物细胞色素P450降解除草剂的机制及其在环境生物修复等方面的应用是今后一段时间内植物CYP450领域的研究热点。     

A study of conformational states of substrates of isoform 3A4 of cytochrome P450

A multiconformational study of substrates for isoform 3A4 of cytochrome P450 with the use of the BiS/MC algorithm has been carried out. The use of this approach made it possible to determine the pseudo-atomic model of this cytochrome and to find the substrate conformers responsible for binding to the cytochrome. It was found that in most cases, the geometry of the conformer, which is bound to the isoform, substantially differs from the geometry of the global minimum conformer. It was shown that, as a rule, the mirror antipodes (enantioconformers) are characterized by different Michaelis constants. The quantitative relationship of the Michaelis constants with the parameters of interaction in the model complexes between the isoform 3A4 and substrates was determined. This dependence describes an experimental value of the Michaelis constant with a squared cross-validation correlation coefficient of 0.88, which was determined by leave-one-out cross-validation technique.     

The cytochrome P450 genesis locus: the origin and evolution of animal cytochrome P450s

The neighbourhoods of cytochrome P450 (CYP) genes in deuterostome genomes, as well as those of the cnidarians Nematostella vectensis and Acropora digitifera and the placozoan Trichoplax adhaerens were examined to find clues concerning the evolution of CYP genes in animals. CYP genes created by the 2R whole genome duplications in chordates have been identified. Both microsynteny and macrosynteny were used to identify genes that coexisted near CYP genes in the animal ancestor. We show that all 11 CYP clans began in a common gene environment. The evidence implies the existence of a single locus, which we term the ‘cytochrome P450 genesis locus’, where one progenitor CYP gene duplicated to create a tandem set of genes that were precursors of the 11 animal CYP clans: CYP Clans 2, 3, 4, 7, 19, 20, 26, 46, 51, 74 and mitochondrial. These early CYP genes existed side by side before the origin of cnidarians, possibly with a few additional genes interspersed. The Hox gene cluster, WNT genes, an NK gene cluster and at least one ARF gene were close neighbours to this original CYP locus. According to this evolutionary scenario, the CYP74 clan originated from animals and not from land plants nor from a common ancestor of plants and animals. The CYP7 and CYP19 families that are chordate-specific belong to CYP clans that seem to have originated in the CYP genesis locus as well, even though this requires many gene losses to explain their current distribution. The approach to uncovering the CYP genesis locus overcomes confounding effects because of gene conversion, sequence divergence, gene birth and death, and opens the way to understanding the biodiversity of CYP genes, families and subfamilies, which in animals has been obscured by more than 600 Myr of evolution.     

原核生物细胞色素P450酶系及其应用

细胞色素P450酶系广泛分布于各种生物中,它们通常由一组基因超家族编码并含有血红素,能够催化一系列化学反应,具有多种生物学功能。特别是原核生物P450酶在催化内源性和外源性化合物的反应中具有重要的工业生产应用价值,成为近年来P450酶系研究的热点。本文对近年来原核生物P450酶系的重组表达和生物催化领域的研究进展进行综述。     

Establishment of a yeast system that stably expresses human cytochrome P450 reductase: application for the study of drug metabolism of cytochrome P450s in vitro

Cytochrome P450s (CYPs) hold a balance in studying pharmacokinetics, toxico-kinetics, drug metabolism, and drug-drug interactions, which require association with cytochrome P450 reductase (CPR) to achieve optimal activity. A novel system of Saccharomyces cerevisiae useful for expression studies of mammalian microsomal CYPs was established. Human CPR (hCPR) was co-expressed with human CYP3A4 (hCYP3A4) in this system, and two expression plasmids pTpLC and pYeplac195-3A4 containing the cDNA of hCPR and hCYP3A4 were constructed, respectively. The two plasmids were applied first and controlled by phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK) promoter. S. cerevisiae BWG1-7alpha transformed with the expression plasmids produced the respective proteins in the expected molecular sizes reactive with both anti-hCYP3A4 immunoglobulin (Ig) and anti-hCPR Ig. The activity of hCPR in yeast BWG-CPR was 443.2 nmol reduced cytochrome c/min/mg, which was about three times the CPR activity of the microsome prepared from the parental yeast. The protein amount of hCYP3A4 in BWG-CPR/3A4 was 35.53 pmol/mg, and the 6beta-hydroxylation testosterone formation activity of hCYP3A4 expressed was 7.5 nmol/min/nmol CYP, 30 times higher than the activity of hCYP3A4 expressed in the parental yeast, and almost two times the activity of hCYP3A4 from homologous human liver microsome. Meanwhile, BWG-CPR/3A4 retained 100 generations under nonselective culture conditions, indicating this yeast was a mitotically stable transformant. BWG-CPR was further tested daily by the PCR amplification of hCPR of yeast genome, Western blot analysis, and the activity assay of hCPR of yeast microsome. This special expression host for CYPs was validated to be stable and efficient for the expression of CYPs, applying as an effective selection model for the drug metabolism in vitro.     

Preliminary crystallographic analysis of an enzyme involved in erythromycin biosynthesis: Cytochrome P450eryF

Cytochrome P450eryF was overexpressed in Escherichia coli and purified in high yield. Crystals of the protein in the presence of the substrate, 6-deoxyerythronolide B, have been obtained by the hanging drop vapor diffusion method, using polyethylene glycol 4000 as a precipitant. The crystals belong to the orthorhombic space group P2₁2₁2₁ with unit cell dimensions of a = 54.16 Å, b = 79.67 Å, and c = 99.48 Å and one molecule per asymmetric unit. A complete native data set has been collected to a resolution of 2.1 Å, and anomalous dispersion difference Patterson maps have revealed the location of the single heme iron atom. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Regulation of expression of cytochromes P450 family 1 in cell cultures at different stages of tumor transformation

Xenobiotic lipophilic compounds, including carcinogenic substances and antitumor agents, are metabolized by isoforms of cytochrome P450 (CYP). The constitutive and induced expression of genes for CYP in tumors is known to decrease as compared to that in homologous normal tissue; this determines to a significant degree the higher resistance of tumors to the effects of some cytostatics. To reveal the tumor transformation stage at which changes in the level of CYP of family 1 take place, we compared the levels of mRNA expression of the genes for CYP1A1, CYP1B1, and that of intracellular proteins regulating the CYP synthesis: Ah-receptor, ARNT, and AHRR. We studied embryonic fibroblast-like cells, the same cells immortalized either by Rauscher virus or spontaneously after passage of a crisis, as well as the cells of three transformed clones (K1, K2, and K8) obtained by action of benzo(a)pyrene on the cells immortalized by Rauscher virus. The constitutive level of expression of the studied genes was revealed in all cell cultures. Benz(a)anthracene induction increased the mRNA expression level for all inducible genes (CYP1A1, 1B1, and AHRR) in the initial culture immortalized by Rauscher virus and in the transformed clone K2. In the culture of the spontaneously immortalized cells and in the transformed clone K1 there was induction only of the CYP1B1 gene. In the cell culture of transformed clone K8, induction of all the inducible genes did not occur. This absence of induction was not caused by hyper expression of the AHRR-protein which blocks induction. The results indicate that the ability of immortalized cells to induce CYP isoforms is determined not only by the property of immortality, but also by how this property was produced. It was also shown that transformed clones, in spite of their common origin, differ from each other in their induction of CYP1 isoforms. The same level of mRNA expression of the genes Ah-receptor and ARNT occurred in cells in which induction of all inducible genes took place, and in those in which induction of all inducible genes did not take place, indicating that, apart from the known participants in the transduction of the induction signal, some other, thus far unknown, factors also take part.     

细胞色素P450在植物与昆虫相互关系中的作用

细胞色素P4 5 0在植物与昆虫相互关系中发挥重要的作用 ,植物可以利用P4 5 0来合成有毒物质以防御昆虫的取食 ,而昆虫则利用P4 5 0对植物毒素进行代谢解毒 ,昆虫以植物代谢中间物为原料合成自身活性物质的过程也有P4 5 0的参与。通过长期的协同进化 ,植物与昆虫的相互作用不仅表现在P4 5 0底物特异性方面 ,也反映在P4 5 0的表达调控上。     

绿盲蝽P450基因的克隆及增效醚对P450酶活性的抑制作用

为探讨P450介导的绿盲蝽Apolygus lucorum(Meyer-Dür)抗药性机制,合理使用杀虫药剂,本研究通过活体和离体抑制实验发现,增效醚(PBO)对绿盲蝽P450酶活性有显著的抑制作用:在处理时长为24h时,P450酶活性由未处理时的12.02pmol/min/mgPro.下降至1.63pmol/min/mgPro.,PBO对P450酶的抑制中浓度为0.256mmol/L。生物测定结果表明,PBO对三氟氯氰菊酯具有显著增效作用,增效7.2倍,而对吡虫啉、灭多威、马拉硫磷无显著增效作用。利用RT-PCR及RACE技术对绿盲蝽P450基因进行克隆,获得了2条CYP4家族基因,全长均为1631bp,含有完整的开放阅读框,编码501个氨基酸;序列比对表明这是一对等位基因,含有CYP4家族所有保守特征序列;同源性比较及系统发育分析显示这2个基因编码的氨基酸序列与褐飞虱Nilaparvata lugens CYP4CE1亲缘关系最近,同源性分别为41.5%和41.1%。     

Enhancement of Isoflavone Synthase Activity by Co-expression of P450 Reductase from Rice

Plant cytochrome P450s interact with a flavoprotein, NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase (CPR), to transfer electrons from NADPH. The gene for rice P450 reductase (RCPR) was cloned and expressed in Saccaromyces cerevisiae, where the specific activity of the expressed RPCR was 0.91 U/mg protein. When isoflavone synthase gene (IFS) from red clover, used as a model system of plant cytochrome P450, was co-expressed with RCPR in yeast, the production of genistein from naringein increased about 4.3-fold, indicating that the RCPR efficiently interacts with cytochrome P450 to transfer electrons from NADPH.