Selectivity in the binding of hydroxylated benzo[a]pyrene derivatives to purified cytochrome P-450c

The interaction of rat liver microsomal cytochrome P-450c with potential benzo[a]pyrene (BP) metabolites has been compared with the binding of BP by optical and fluorescence spectroscopy. Fluorescence quenching of the phenolic derivatives of BP derives from 1:1 complex formation with P-450c, is a function of the position of the hydroxyl substituent, and correlates with the concomitant increase in high-spin cytochrome observed in parallel optical titrations. The proportion of high-spin cytochrome seen when P-450c was reconstituted in dilauroylphosphatidylcholine vesicles (60 micrograms/mL) ranged from about 7% for the 3- and 7-phenols to 75% for 11- and 12-phenols. BP and all 12 methyl-BP derivatives have comparable high affinities for P-450c (50-70% high spin). Kd determinations with purified P-450c indicated very strong binding of BP phenols that induce high-spin complexes (4-, 5-, 9-, 10-, 11-, and 12-phenols; Kd = 3-25 nM). Inhibition of n-octylamine binding by the 3- and 7-phenols indicated weak interactions (Kd = 80-90 nM), even though low-spin complexes were formed. Inhibition of BP metabolism catalyzed by P-450c with BP phenols correlated with their respective dissociation constants. These results suggest that phenolic substitution at certain positions on BP (1, 2, 3, 7, or 8) interferes with binding to the active site while substitutions at the other positions either enhance or have no effect on binding. BP dihydrodiols [including the (+)- and (-)-BP 7,8-dihydrodiols] were relatively ineffective in forming high-spin complexes (approximately 20%), and fluorescence quenching of dihydrodiols by P-450c also saturated at low levels.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Electron spin resonance studies of wild-type and mutant cytochromes P-450d: effects of mutations at proximal, aromatic and distal sites on g values

Low-temperature (6-40 K) electron spin resonance (ESR) spectra of cytochrome P-450d (P-450d) and its 17 mutants have been measured. The spectra of the wild-type and all mutant P-450ds showed signals at around g = 8, 3.7 and 1.7, while they didn't show any signal at around g = 2 up to 40 K. It was thus suggested that all of these P-450ds essentially take the ferric high-spin form. The g values of the proximal mutants were closer to those of the wild-type than those of the distal and aromatic mutants, suggesting that mutations at the distal and aromatic sites influence the electronic state of the heme more profoundly than those of the proximal site. The distal multiple mutants whose distal sequences are the same as those of the low-spin type P-450s such as rat P-450c, mouse P1-450 and P3-450 showed only high-spin ESR signals. Thus the spin state of P-450ds (the wild-type and all mutants) may not be solely due to specific characteristics of the distal site, but to the unique nature of the whole heme environment of P-450d. It is also suggested that the amino acids at the distal region of P-450d may be located close to the heme, so that the water molecule cannot bind to the heme, thus taking the high-spin state. Both the aromatic mutants showed rather large deviations of the g values from those of wild-type P-450d, suggesting that the aromatic region somehow interacts with the heme.     

Reduction kinetics of purified rat liver cytochrome P-450. Evidence for a sequential reaction mechanism dependent on the hemoprotein spin state

The anaerobic reduction kinetics of purified rat liver ferric cytochrome P-450 from phenobarbital-treated rat liver microsomes, reconstituted with saturating NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase, have been investigated and were shown not to be monophasic. From experiments correlating changes in the rate of fast-phase reduction with the spin state of the heme iron existing at preequilibrium, data were obtained consistent with a model for spin-state control of cytochrome P-450 reduction wherein the high-spin form of the hemoprotein is more rapidly reduced than the low-spin form. In addition, the temperature dependence of the reduction process in the presence of the substrate benzphetamine was studied. From the results obtained it is suggested that the endothermic nature of the low- to high-spin transition largely accounts for the apparent activation energy observed for the reduction of high-spin cytochrome P-450 being relatively temperature insensitive when compared to the rate constant for reduction of the membrane-bound form of the hemoprotein.     

Effects of cholesterol and adrenodoxin binding on the heme moiety of cytochrome P-450scc: a resonance Raman study

The effects of cholesterol and adrenodoxin binding on resonance Raman spectra of cytochrome P-450scc in both oxidized and CO-reduced states were examined. Upon cholesterol binding, oxidized cytochrome P-450scc showed a significant shift of spin equilibrium from low-spin to high-spin state. Addition of adrenodoxin caused a complete conversion of cholesterol-bound oxidized cytochrome P-450scc to a pure high-spin state that was considered to be in the hexacoordinated state judged by the v10 mode at 1620 cm-1 and v3 mode around 1485 cm-1. Cholesterol in substrate binding site may oppose a linear and perpendicular binding of carbon monoxide to the reduced heme iron, leading to the distorted Fe-C-O linkage. This is based on the following observations: (1) an increase of the Fe-CO stretching frequency to 483 from 477 cm-1 upon addition of cholesterol; (2) an enhanced photodissociability of bound carbon monoxide of CO complex of cytochrome P-450scc in the presence of cholesterol. As another aspect of the effect of cholesterol on the CO complex form of cytochrome P-450scc, the enhanced stability of the native form ("P-450" form) was observed. There was no additional effect of reduced adrenodoxin on the Raman spectra of the CO-reduced form of cytochrome P-450scc.     

Resonance Raman study on the structure of the active sites of microsomal cytochrome P-450 isozymes LM2 and LM4

The isozymes 2 and 4 of rabbit microsomal cytochrome P-450 (LM2, LM4) have been studied by resonance Raman spectroscopy. Based on high quality spectra, a vibrational assignment of the porphyrin modes in the frequency range between 100-1700 cm-1 is presented for different ferric states of cytochrome P-450 LM2 and LM4. The resonance Raman spectra are interpreted in terms of the spin and ligation state of the heme iron and of heme-protein interactions. While in cytochrome P-450 LM2 the six-coordinated low-spin configuration is predominantly occupied, in the isozyme LM4 the five-coordinated high-spin form is the most stable state. The different stability of these two spin configurations in LM2 and LM4 can be attributed to the structures of the active sites. In the low-spin form of the isozymes LM4 the protein matrix forces the heme into a more rigid conformation than in LM2. These steric constraints are removed upon dissociation of the sixth ligand leading to a more flexible structure of the active site in the high-spin form of the isozyme LM4. The vibrational modes of the vinyl groups were found to be characteristic markers for the specific structures of the heme pockets in both isozymes. They also respond sensitively to type-I substrate binding. While in cytochrome P-450 LM4 the occupation of the substrate-binding pocket induces conformational changes of the vinyl groups, as reflected by frequency shifts of the vinyl modes, in the LM2 isozyme the ground-state conformation of these substituents remain unaffected, suggesting that the more flexible heme pocket can accommodate substrates without imposing steric constraints on the porphyrin. The resonance Raman technique makes structural changes visible which are induced by substrate binding in addition and independent of the changes associated with the shift of the spin state equilibrium: the high-spin states in the substrate-bound and substrate-free enzyme are structurally different. The formation of the inactive form, P-420, involves a severe structural rearrangement in the heme binding pocket leading to drastic changes of the vinyl group conformations. The conformational differences of the active sites in cytochromes P-450 LM2 and LM4 observed in this work contribute to the understanding of the structural basis accounting for substrate and product specificity of cytochrome P-450 isozymes.     

NADPH-dependent reduction of amaranch in liver microsomes characterized the quantity of low spin forms of cytochrome P-450.

We confirmed that NADPH-dependent anaerobic amaranch reduction in rat liver microsomes is compatible with the interaction of the dye with Fe(III) heme of cytochrome P-450 as the type II substrate. This process is rate-limiting in the whole reaction. High positive correlation (r = 0.949) between the values of Vmax for reaction of NADPH-dependent anaerobic amaranch reduction and the relative content low spin forms of cytochrome P-450 determined by ESR in microsomes from liver of control and induced by PB, BP, IS and 4-MP rats was observed. Relative content of low spin forms of cytochrome P-450 determined by ESR was increased according to BP less than PB less than control less than IS approximately 4-MP; Vmax values increased according to BP less than PB less than control less than IS less than 4-MP. Thus, reaction of NADPH-dependent anaerobic amaranch reduction may be used for determination of low spin forms of cytochrome P-450 at physiological conditions.     

Surface enhanced resonance Raman scattering as a probe of the spin state of structurally related cytochromes P-450 from rat liver

Surface enhanced resonance Raman scattering (SERRS) was observed from structurally related drug-induced rat liver cytochromes P-450 adsorbed on a silver colloid. Careful control of pH and the sequence of addition of components to the so1 is required to prevent protein denaturation at the surface due to conversion to P-450's biologically inactive form P-420 or haem loss. A low-spin P-450 (PB3a), a mixed low- and high-spin P-450 (PB3b) and a predominantly high-spin P-450 (MC1a) were investigated. Spectra recorded in the 1300-1700 cm-1 frequency region, containing the oxidation state marker v4 at 1375 cm-1 (Fe3+) and spin state markers v10 (1625 cm-1, high-spin; 1633 cm-1, low-spin) and v19 (1575 cm-1, high-spin; 1585 cm-1, low-spin) were used to differentiate between the spin states of the various forms of cytochrome P-450. As well as the established spin state marker bands, the intensity of a band at 1400 cm-1 appeared to depend on the high-spin content. Thus, with this method SERRS from silver colloids can be used to determine spin states of related cytochromes P-450 in dilute solution (10(-8)M) and may be of value in studies of protein-substrate interactions.     

Active site of bovine adrenocortical cytochrome P-450(11) beta studied by resonance Raman and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopies: distinction from cytochrome P-450scc

Cytochrome P-45011 beta was purified as the 11-deoxycorticosterone-bound form from bovine adrenocortical mitochondria and its active site was investigated by resonance Raman and EPR spectroscopies. Resonance Raman spectra of the purified sample revealed that the heme iron adopts the pure pentacoordinated ferric high-spin state on the basis of the nu 10 (1629cm-1) and nu 3 (1490 cm-1) mode frequencies, which are higher than those of the hexacoordinated ferric high-spin cytochrome P-450scc-substrate complexes. In the ferrous-CO state, a Fe2(+)-CO stretching mode was identified at 481.5 cm-1 on the basis of an isotopic substitution technique; this frequency is very close to that of cytochrome P-450scc in the cholesterol-complexed state (483 cm-1). The EPR spectra of the purified sample at 4.2 K showed ferric high-spin signals (at g = 7.98, 3.65, and 1.71) that were clearly distinct from the cytochrome P-450scc ferric high-spin signals (g = 8.06, 3.55, and 1.68) and confirmed previous assignments of ferric high-spin signals in adrenocortical mitochondria. The EPR spectra of the nitric oxide (NO) complex of ferrous cytochrome P-45011 beta showed EPR signals with rhombic symmetry (gx = 2.068, gz = 2.001, and gy = 1.961) very similar to those of the ferrous cytochrome P-450scc-NO complex in the presence of 22(S)-hydroxycholesterol and 20(R),22-(R)-dihydroxycholesterol at 77 K.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Spin transition of camphor-bound cytochrome P-450. 1. local paH and electrostatic interactions.

Variations of the spin state in camphor-bound cytochrome P-450 are interpreted in the light of the polyelectrolyte theory and its implications on the microenvironment of the heme. The ratio of high-spin to low-spin iron can serve as a tool to determine the local paH in the microenvironment of a group (pK0, app approximately 5.4) which governs the spin state. The local paH depends on the electrostatic potential created by negatively charged groups (pKa = 5.6), modulated in turn by paH and by the screening effect of ionic strength. A model is given for the proton-coupled spin state change.     

M?ssbauer investigations of high-spin ferrous heme proteins. I. Cytochrome P-450.

Anaerobically reduced samples of cytochrome P-450 from Pseudomonas putida were studied by M?ssbauer spectroscopy. In the presence of an applied magnetic field the high-spin ferrous heme iron showed an intricate pattern of electric and magnetic hyperfine interactions which could be parametrized successfully in terms of a spin Hamiltonian formalism. The results imply a very low (triclinic) symmetry of the heme iron. The effects of the ligand environment and of spin-orbit coupling result in a large zero-field splitting of the electronic ground state. The electronic ground state. The electric-field gradient tensor is characterized by a large asymmetry parameter, and its principal axes are rotated substantially from the frame that defines the zero-field splitting. This study shows that high-field M?ssbauer spectroscopy provides a unique tool for structural investigations of high-spin ferrous compounds and can substitute, under suitable conditions, for magnetic susceptibility measurements. The present paper focuses on the methodology and data analysis; in the subsequent paper the data obtained for P-450 are compared with new results obtained for hemoglobin, chloroperoxidase, and horseradish peroxidase.     

Absorption spectra of highly purified liver microsomal cytochrome P-450 in non-equilibrium conformational states at low temperatures

Absorption spectra of highly purified liver microsomal cytochrome P-450 in non-equilibrium states were obtained at 77 K by reduction with trapped electrons, formed by gamma-irradiation of the water-glycerol matrix. In contrast to the equilibrium form of ferrous cytochrome P-450 with the heme iron in the high-spin state the non-equilibrium ferrous state has a low-spin heme iron. The absorption spectrum of the non-equilibrium ferrous cytochrome P-450 is characterized by two bands at 564 (-band) and 530 nm (-band). When the temperature is increased to about 278 K this non-equilibrium form of the reduced enzyme is relaxed to the corresponding equilibrium form with a single absorption band at 548 nm in the visible region characteristic for a high-spin heme iron.     

Effects of detergent on substrate binding and spin state of purified liver microsomal cytochrome P-450LM2 from phenobarbital-treated rabbits

Spectral changes accompanying the binding of the nonionic detergent n-octyl beta-D-glucopyranoside (n-octyl glucoside) to cytochrome P-450LM2 purified from liver microsomes of phenobarbital-treated rabbits have been compared to changes in catalytic activity obtained in a reconstituted system consisting of various levels of detergent, P-450LM2, and NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase. In the absence of substrate and reductase, addition of n-octyl glucoside to 2-3 mM resulted in a difference spectrum (detergent-bound minus detergent-free cytochrome) characterized by a small maximum at 390 nm and a minimum at 410 nm, suggestive of a slight stabilization of the high-spin (S = 5/2) state of the cytochrome. As the detergent concentration was increased to 4-8 mM (corresponding to maximal activity and pentameric or hexameric P-450), a new peak appeared at 427 nm while the minimum remained at 410 nm. Between 10 and 30 mM n-octyl glucoside (conditions which produced catalytically inactive and monomeric P-450) the minimum in the difference spectrum shifted to 390 nm and the maximum to 425 nm, characteristic of a shift in spin equilibrium toward low-spin (S = 1/2) cytochrome. At low and high detergent concentrations, substrate [d-benzphetamine with n-octyl glucoside or cyclohexane with the zwitterionic detergent 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-1-propanesulfonate (CHAPS)] was bound to P-450LM2 with formation of high-spin P-450, although the increase in high-spin cytochrome was less at high detergent levels than at low. The affinity of P-450 for substrate decreased by 2-3-fold at high detergent.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Purification and characterization of diabetes-inducible cytochrome P-450

A diabetes-inducible form of cytochrome P-450, termed P-450DM, was purified to electrophoretical homogeneity (MW 51,000) by high-performance liquid chromatography from liver microsomes of diabetic rats induced with streptozotocin. The CO-reduced absorption maximum of P-450DM was at 452 nm and the oxidized heme iron appeared to be predominately in the high-spin state as deduced from the Soret maximum at 395 nm. P-450DM was active in aniline hydroxylation and N-nitrosodimethylamine demethylation. The dealkylation activity toward 7-ethoxycoumarin by P-450DM was much enhanced by the addition of cytochrome b5.     

Error in assay due to time dependency of carbon monoxide difference spectrum of reduced yeast cytochrome P-450: Slow reduction caused by Triton X-100 present

Triton X-100, added to yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae for the purpose of stabilization or solubilization affects the carbon monoxide difference spectrum of reduced cytochrome P-450 and consequently the measurement of cytochrome P-450. Eight minutes is needed for 450-nm peak to reach its maximum height. Triton X-100 is shown to behave as a Type II substrate (absorption maximum at 418 nm and minimum at 390 nm) and to modulate the spin state of cytochrome P-450 from high to low form. Low-spin yeast cytochrome P-450 is reduced more slowly than the high-spin form.     

Properties of electrophoretically homogeneous phenobarbital-inducible and beta-naphthoflavone-inducible forms of liver microsomal cytochrome P-450.

Procedures are described for the isolation of two forms of rabbit liver microsomal liver microsomal cytochrome P-450 (P-450LM) in homogeneous state. They are designated by their relative electrophoretic mobilities on polyacrylamide gel in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate as P-450LM2 and P-450LM4. P-450LM2, which was isolated from phenobarbital-induced animals, has a subunit molecular weight of 48,700. The best preparations contain 20 nmol of the cytochrome per mg of protein and 1 molecule of heme per polypeptide chain. P-450LM4, which is induced by beta-naphthoflavone but is also present in phenobarbital-induced and untreated animals, was isolated from all three sources and found to have a subunit molecular weight of 55,300. The best preparations contain 17nmol of the cytochrome per mg of protein and 1 molecule of heme per polypeptide chain. Some of the purified preparations of the cytochromes, although electrophoretically homogeneous, contain apoenzyme due to heme loss during purification. The purified proteins contain no detectable NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase, cytochrome b5, or NADH-cytochrome b5 reductase, and only low levels of phospholipid (about 1 molecule per subunit). Amino acid analysis indicated that P-450LM2 and P-450LM4 are similar in composition, but the latter protein has about 60 additional residues. The COOH-terminal amino acid of P-450LM2 is arginine, as shown by carboxypeptidase treatment, whereas that of P-450LM4 is lysine. NH2-terminal amino acid residues could not be detected. Carbohydrate analysis indicated that both cytochromes contain 1 residue of glucosamine and 2 of mannose per polypeptide subunit. The optical spectra of the oxidized and reduced cytochromes and carbon monoxide complexes were determined. Oxidized P-450LM2 has maxima at 568, 535, and 418 nm characteristic of a low spin hemeprotein, and P450LM4 from beta-naphthoflavone-induced, phenobarbital-induced, or control microsomes has maxima at 645 and 394 nm, characteristic of the high spin state. The spectrum of -450lm4 becomes similar to that of P-450LM2 at high protein concentrations or upon the addition of detergent (Renex), whereas the spectrum of P-450LM2 is unaffected by the protein concentration or the presence of detergent. Electron paramagnetic resonance spectrometry of the purified cytochromes indicated that oxidized -450lm2 is in the low spin state, whereas P-450LM4 is largely, but not entirely, in the high spin state.     

Avian kidney mitochondrial hemeprotein P-4501 alpha: isolation, characterization and NADPH-ferredoxin reductase-dependent activity

We describe the isolation of cytochrome P-4501 alpha from chick-kidney mitochondria. Although, gel permeation HPLC yielded 41% of the total amount of P-450 present in cholate-solubilized hemeproteins, it produced a highly purified mixture from which the P-4501 alpha could be purified to homogeneity in a final detergent-free state by a single-step application of hydrophobic interaction HPLC using hydroxypropyl silica. The purified P-4501 alpha traveled as a single band in SDS gel electrophoresis with an apparent Mr = 57,000. The absolute spectrum of the P-4501 alpha (Fe3+) form gave a lambda max at 403 nm. This characteristic lends support to the anomalous high-spin heme electron paramagnetic resonance spectrum and the heme structure of P-4501 alpha which we have previously reported (Ghazarian et al. (1980) J. Biol. Chem. 255, 8275-8281; Pedersen et al. (1976) J. Biol. Chem. 251, 3933-3941). In reconstitution experiments with ferredoxin-dependent NADPH-cytochrome c (P-450) reductase complexes, P-4501 alpha catalyzed the hydroxylation of 25-hydroxy-9,10-secocholesta-5,7,10(19)-trien-3 beta-ol at the C-1 position exclusively with a turnover number of 0.03 min-1. This number is identical to that obtained from measurements of the catalytic activity in intact mitochondria, indicating that only one major species of cytochrome P-450 occurs in chick-kidney mitochondria. The complete responsiveness of cytochrome P-450 concentrations in intact mitochondria to the vitamin D status of chicks provided additional evidence that the major cytochrome P-450 species present in renal mitochondria is uniquely associated with vitamin D metabolism.     

Pulmonary microsomal cytochrome P-450 from 3-methylcholanthrene-treated hamsters: purification, characterization, and metabolism of benzo(a)pyrene

A major form of pulmonary cytochrome P-450 (pulmonary P-450MC) was purified approximately 165-fold from lung microsomes of 3-methylcholanthrene (MC)-treated hamsters. The purified preparation contained 14.2 nmol of cytochrome P-450 (P-450) per mg protein and was essentially free from NADPH-cytochrome P-450 (cytochrome c)-reductase (NADPH-reductase) and epoxide hydrolase. Pulmonary P-450MC exhibits an absorption maximum at 446.5 nm in the difference spectrum of reduced hemoprotein-CO complex, and a low-spin state of ferric iron in the heme. By sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the molecular weight of pulmonary P-450MC was estimated to be 56,000. In a reconstituted system, pulmonary P-450MC efficiently catalyzed benzo(a)pyrene (BP) hydroxylation, but showed low activities for 7-ethoxycoumarin O-deethylation and benzphetamine N-demethylation. In Ouchterlony double diffusion analysis, hamster pulmonary P-450MC reacted to the antibody prepared against rat hepatic P-450MC to form a faint precipitation line with a spur, indicating that the two P-450MCs have a common antigenic site but are not immunologically identical. When incubated with [14C]BP in a reconstituted system containing NADPH-reductase and epoxide hydrolase, hamster pulmonary P-450MC formed much higher amounts of BP diols, especially 7,8-diol, than were formed by rat pulmonary P-450MC.     

Spectroscopic and rapid kinetic studies of reduction of cytochrome c554 by hydroxylamine oxidoreductase from Nitrosomonas europaea.

During oxidation of hydroxylamine, hydroxylamine oxidoreductase (HAO) transfers two electrons to tetraheme cytochrome c554 at rates sufficient to account for physiological rates of oxidation of ammonia to nitrite in Nitrosomonas europaea. Spectroscopic changes indicate that the two electrons are taken up by a high-potential pair of hemes (E degrees' = +47 mV) (one apparently high spin and one low spin). During single-turnover experiments, in which the reduction of oxidized cytochrome c554 by NH2OH-reduced HAO is monitored, one electron is taken up by the high-spin heme at a rate too fast to monitor directly (greater than 100 s-1) but which is inferred either by a loss of amplitude (relative to that observed under multiple-turnover conditions) or is slowed down by increasing ionic strength (greater than or equal to 300 mM KCl). The second electron is taken up by the low-spin heme at a 10-30-fold slower rate. The latter kinetics appear multiphasic and may be complicated by a transient oxidation of HAO due to the rapid transfer of the first electron into the high-spin heme of cytochrome c554. Under multiple-turnover conditions, a "slower" rate of reduction is observed for the high-spin heme of cytochrome c554 with a maximum rate constant of approximately 30 s-1, a value also obtained for the reduction, by NH2OH, of the cytochrome c554 high-spin heme within an oxidized HAO/c554 complex. Under these conditions, the maximum rate of reduction of the low-spin heme was approximately 11.0 s-1. Both rates decreased as the concentration of cytochrome c554 was increased above the concentration of HAO.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Resonance Raman investigations of chloroperoxidase, horseradish peroxidase, and cytochrome c using Soret band laser excitation.

Resonance Raman spectra of the heme protein chloroperoxidase in its native and reduced forms and complexed with various small ions are obtained by using laser excitation in the Soret region (350-450 nm). Additionally, Raman spectra of horseradish peroxidase, cytochrome P-450cam, and cytochrome c, taken with Soret excitation, are presented and discussed. The data support previous findings that indicate a strong analogy between the active site environments of chloroperoxidase and cytochrome P-450cam. The Raman spectra of native chloroperoxidase are found to be sensitive to temperature and imply that a high leads to low spin transition of the heme iron atom takes place as the temperature is lowered. Unusual peak positions are also found for native and reduced chloroperoxidase and indicate a weakening of porphyrin ring bond strengths due to the presence of a strongly electron-donating axial ligand. Enormous selective enhancements of vibrational modes at 1360 and 674 cm-1 are also observed in some low-spin ferrous forms of the enzyme. These vibrational frequencies are assigned to primary normal modes of expansion of the prophyrin macrocycle upon electronic excitation.     

Rat liver cytochrome P-450b, P-420b, and P-420c are degraded to biliverdin by heme oxygenase

In this report we provide data, for the first time, demonstrating the conversion of the heme moiety of certain cytochrome P-450 and P-420 preparations, to biliverdin, catalyzed by heme oxygenase. We have used purified preparations of cytochromes P-450c, P-450b, P-450/P-420c, or P-450/P-420b as substrates in a heme oxygenase assay system reconstituted with heme oxygenase isoforms, HO-2 or HO-1, NADPH-cytochrome c (P-450) reductase, biliverdin reductase, NADPH, and Emulgen 911. With cytochrome P-450b or P-450/P-420b preparations, a near quantitative conversion of degraded heme to bile pigments was observed. In the case of cytochrome P-450/P-420c approximately 70% of the degraded heme was accounted for as bilirubin but only cytochrome P-420c was appreciably degraded. The role of heme oxygenase in this reaction was supported by the following observations: (i) bilirubin formation was not observed when heme oxygenase was omitted from the assay system; (ii) the rate of degradation of the heme moiety was at least threefold greater with heme oxygenase and NADPH-cytochrome c (P-450) reductase than that observed with reductase alone; and (iii) the presence of Zn- or Sn-protoporphyrins (2 microM), known competitive inhibitors of heme oxygenase, resulted in 70-90% inhibition of bilirubin formation.