A cytochrome P4501B gene from a fish, Pleuronectes platessa

Tetrapod cytochrome P4501 family (CYP1A1, CYP1A2 and CYP1B1) enzymes are most active in hydroxylating a variety of environmental contaminants including polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), planar polychlorinated biphenyls and arylamines and thus play a pivotal role in the toxicology of these compounds. Mammalian CYP1A1 and CYP1A2 genes appear to have diverged after the evolutionary emergence of mammals, whereas fish species apparently possess only one CYP1A family gene, and fish CYP1A enzymes exhibit properties of both of the mammalian isoforms. We have isolated a further CYP1 family gene from a marine flatfish (plaice; Pleuronectes platessa), which, on the basis of exon organisation and sequence similarity, can be assigned as a piscine CYP1B. Its deduced amino acid sequence shows the closest (54%) identity to mammalian CYP1B1 proteins and, on the basis of molecular modeling studies, shows a high degree of positional and structural conservation of the substrate contacting amino acid residues in its putative active site when compared to other CYP1 enzymes. Phylogenetic analysis of fish and mammalian CYP1 family sequences indicates that the plaice CYP1B and mammalian CYP1B1 genes share a common ancestry. Plaice CYP1B has a more restricted tissue expression profile than the previously isolated plaice CYP1A, only being detectable, by Northern blotting, in gill tissue. In contrast to CYP1A, which shows extensive PAH-dependent induction in a variety of tissues, plaice CYP1B appears unresponsive to treatment with a prototypical PAH-type inducer, beta-naphthoflavone (BNF).     

Human microvascular dysfunction and apoptotic injury induced by AL amyloidosis light chain proteins

Light chain amyloidosis (AL) involves overproduction of amyloidogenic light chain proteins (LC) leading to heart failure, yet the mechanisms underlying tissue toxicity remain unknown. We hypothesized that LC induces endothelial dysfunction in non-AL human microvasculature and apoptotic injury in human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAECs). Adipose arterioles (n = 34, 50 ± 3 yr) and atrial coronary arterioles (n = 19, 68 ± 2 yr) from non-AL subjects were cannulated. Adipose arteriole dilator responses to acetylcholine/papaverine were measured at baseline and 1 h exposure to LC (20 μg/ml) from biopsy-proven AL subjects (57 ± 11 yr) without and with antioxidant cotreatment. Coronary arteriole dilation to bradykinin/papaverine was measured post-LC exposure. HCAECs were exposed to 1 or 24 h of LC. LC reduced dilation to acetylcholine (10(-4) M: 41.6 ± 7 vs. 85.8 ± 2.2% control, P < 0.001) and papaverine (81.4 ± 4.6 vs. 94.8 ± 1.3% control, P < 0.01) in adipose arterioles and to bradykinin (10(-6) M: 68.6 ± 6.2 vs. 90.9 ± 1.6% control, P < 0.001) but not papaverine in coronary arterioles. There was an increase in superoxide and peroxynitrite in arterioles treated with LC. Adipose arteriole dilation was restored by cotreatment with polyethylene glycol-superoxide dismutase and tetrahydrobiopterin but only partially restored by mitoquinone (mitochondria-targeted antioxidant) and gp91ds-tat (NADPH oxidase inhibitor). HCAECs exposed to LC showed reduced NO and increased superoxide, peroxynitrite, annexin-V, and propidium iodide compared with control. Brief exposure to physiological amounts of LC induced endothelial dysfunction in human adipose and coronary arterioles and increased apoptotic injury in coronary artery endothelial cells likely as a result of oxidative stress, reduced NO bioavailability, and peroxynitrite production. Microvascular dysfunction and injury is a novel mechanism underlying AL pathobiology and is a potential target for therapy.     

Genetic polymorphisms in cytochrome P4501B1 and susceptibility to head and neck cancer

Cytochrome P4501B1 (CYP1B1), a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) metabolizing CYP, is genetically polymorphic in humans and may be involved in the individual susceptibility to chemical-induced cancer. In the present study, genotype and haplotype frequencies of four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in CYP1B1 that cause amino acid changes (Arg-Gly at codon 48, Ala-Ser at codon 119, Leu-Val at codon 432 and Asn-Ser at codon 453) were studied in 150 cases suffering from head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and in an equal number of controls. A significant difference was observed for the distribution of variant genotypes of Arg48Gly (CYP1B1*2) and Ala119Ser (CYP1B1*2) polymorphisms of CYP1B1 in cases versus controls. No significant differences were observed for the distribution of variant genotypes-Leu432Val (CYP1B1*3) and Asn453Ser (CYP1B1*4), respectively. When the four SNPs were analyzed using a haplotype approach, SNPs at codon 48 (Arg48Gly) and codon 119 (Ala119Ser) exhibited complete linkage disequilibrium (LD) in all the cases and controls. Significant differences in the distribution of the two haplotypes (G-T-C-A and G-T-G-A) were observed both in the cases and in controls. Furthermore, our data indicates a several fold increase in risk in the cases who use tobacco (cigarette smoking or tobacco chewing) or alcohol with the variant genotypes of CYP1B1 (CYP1B1*2 and CYP1B1*3) suggesting the role of gene-environment interaction in the susceptibility to HNSCC.     

Association of functionally important polymorphisms in cytochrome P4501B1 with lung cancer

In the present study, genotype and haplotype frequencies of four polymorphisms of cytochrome P450 1B1 (CYP1B1) that cause amino acid changes (Arg-Gly at codon 48, Ala-Ser at codon 119, Leu-Val at 432 and Asn-Ser at codon 453) were studied in 200 patients suffering from lung cancer and equal number of controls. A significant difference was observed for the distribution of variant genotypes of CYP1B1Arg48Gly and Ala119Ser polymorphisms (CYP1B1*2) in cases when compared to the controls. No significant difference was observed for the distribution of variant genotypes of CYP1B1Leu432Val (CYP1B1*3) and CYP1B1Asn453Ser (CYP1B1*4) polymorphism. When the four SNPs were analyzed using a haplotype approach, SNPs at codon 48 (Arg48Gly) and codon 119 (Ala119Ser) exhibited complete linkage disequilibrium (LD) in all the cases and controls. Significant differences in the distribution of the three haplotypes (G-T-C-A, G-T-G-A and G-T-C-G) were observed in the cases when compared to controls. Tobacco use in the form of smoking as well as chewing was found to significantly increase the risk of lung cancer in patients by interacting with CYP1B1Ala119Ser genotypes demonstrating the role of gene-environment interaction in lung cancer. Further, the risk of lung cancer increased several fold in the patients carrying the genotype combinations of CYP1B1Ala119Ser and CYP1B1Leu432Val with GSTM1, a phase II enzyme suggesting the importance of gene-gene interactions in enhancing the susceptibility to lung cancer.     

Mutations in CYP1B1, the gene for cytochrome P4501B1, are the predominant cause of primary congenital glaucoma in Saudi Arabia.

The autosomal recessive disorder primary congenital glaucoma (PCG) is caused by unknown developmental defect(s) of the trabecular meshwork and anterior chamber angle of the eye. Homozygosity mapping with a DNA pooling strategy in three large consanguineous Saudi PCG families identified the GLC3A locus on chromosome 2p21 in a region tightly linked to PCG in another population. Formal linkage analysis in 25 Saudi PCG families confirmed both significant linkage to polymorphic markers in this region and incomplete penetrance, but it showed no evidence of genetic heterogeneity. For these 25 families, the maximum combined two-point LOD score was 15.76 at a recombination fraction of .021, with the polymorphic marker D2S177. Both haplotype analysis and homozygosity mapping in these families localized GLC3A to a 5-cM critical interval delineated by markers D2S2186 and D2S1356. Sequence analysis of the coding exons for cytochrome P4501B1 (CYP1B1) in these 25 families revealed three distinctive mutations that segregate with the phenotype in 24 families. Additional clinical and molecular data on some mildly affected relatives showed variable expressivity of PCG in this population. These results should stimulate a study of the genetic and environmental events that modify the effects of CYP1B1 mutations in ocular development. Furthermore, the small number of PCG mutations identified in this Saudi population makes both neonatal and population screening attractive public health measures.     

Purified fusion enzyme between rat cytochrome P4501A1 and yeast NADPH-cytochrome P450 oxidoreductase

A genetically engineered fusion enzyme between rat P4501A1 and yeast P450 reductase in the microsomal fraction of the recombinant yeast AH22/pAFCR1 was purified. The purified enzyme showed a typical CO-difference spectrum of P4501A1 and a single band with an apparent molecular weight of 125,000 on sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. This agreed with the molecular weight of 131,202 calculated from the amino acid sequence. The purified enzyme showed both 7-ethoxycoumarin o-deethylase activity and horse heart cytochrome c reductase activity in the presence of NADPH. The 7-ethoxycoumarin o-deethylase activity depended on the species of lipid used for the reconstitution of the purified fusion enzyme although the purified enzyme showed the activity without reconstitution. The purified fusion enzyme had the Km value of 26 microM for 7-ethoxycoumarin and the maximal turnover rate of 29 mol product/min/mol enzyme at 30 degrees C.     

Role of THR501 residue in substrate binding and catalytic activity of cytochrome P4501A1

A putative binding region for cumene hydroperoxide in the active site of cytochrome P4501A1 was identified using photoaffinity labeling. Thr501 was determined as the most likely site of modification by azidocumene used as the photoaffinity label (T. Cvrk and H. W. Strobel, (1998) Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 349, 95-104). To evaluate further the role of this amino acid residue a site-directed mutagenesis approach was employed. P4501A1 wild type and two mutants, P4501A1Glu501 and P4501A1Phe501, were expressed in and purified from Escherichia coli and used for kinetic analysis to confirm the role of Thr501 residue in cumene hydroperoxide binding. The mutation resulted in a two- to fourfold decrease in the rate of heme degradation in the presence of 0.5 mM cumene hydroperoxide. The mutations do not prevent or significantly alter binding of the tested substrates; however, binding of 2-phenyl-2-propanol (product generated from cumene hydroperoxide) to P4501A1Glu501 and P4501A1Phe501 exhibited four- and eightfold decreases, respectively, suggesting that the mutations strongly affected the affinity of cumene hydroperoxide for the P4501A1 active site. The kinetic analysis of cumene hydroperoxide-supported reactions showed that both mutants exhibit increased Km and decreased VMax values for all tested substrates. Furthermore, the mutations affected product distribution in testosterone hydroxylation. On the basis of P4501A1Glu501 and P4501A1Phe501 characterization, it can be concluded that Thr501 plays an important role in cumene hydroperoxide/P4501A1 interaction.     

Immunocytochemical distribution of cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A) in developing gilthead seabream, Sparus aurata

CYP1A is a major inducible enzyme in the metabolism of xenobiotic substrates. In this paper we investigate by means of immunohistochemistry, the tissue distribution of constitutive cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A) during the period of endogenous nutrition (from hatching until day 4) in developing gilthead seabream, Sparus aurata larvae. For this purpose, a polyclonal antiserum (BN-1, Biosense Laboratories) directed against conserved piscine CYP1A sequences was used on paraffin-embedded sections from seabream larvae. From hatching onward, CYP1A immunoreactivity was observed in the following tissues and cells: syncytial, oil-globule envelopes and matrix of the yolk-sac, kidney (epithelia of renal tubules), cardiac muscle cells, skin epidermal cells, troncal musculature, enterocytes of different intestinal regions, goblet cells of the bucco-pharyngeal region, gill epithelial cells and the endothelia of the vascular system of various tissues (especially from liver and brain). Moreover, eye (retina), olfactory epithelium and some positive nerve fibers located in the proximity of the olfactory bulbs and running ventrally toward the posterior brain were strongly CYP1A immunoreactive. In general, the intensity of immunostaining increased with larval development.     

Acetone-regulated synthesis and degradation of cytochrome P450E1 and cytochrome P4502B1 in rat liver [corrected

The regulation of CYP2E1 and 2B1 was studied by following mRNA levels, catalytic activities and the subcellular distribution of the apoproteins in rat liver 0, 6, 12, 24, 48 and 96 h after a single intragastric dose of acetone. No changes were observed in hepatic CYP2E1 mRNA levels at any time after acetone treatment, whereas rapid rises were observed in the microsomal amount of CYP2E1 protein and CYP2E1-catalyzed 4-nitrophenol hydroxylase and carbon-tetrachloride-initiated lipid-peroxidation activities. However, CYP2E1-dependent catalytic activities declined much faster than the immunodetectable CYP2E1 protein, suggesting that this cytochrome P-450 is inactivated prior to degradation. Similar results were seen in primary hepatocyte cultures. By contrast, concomitant changes in levels of CYP2B1 and CYP2B1-dependent O-depentylation of pentoxyresorufin were observed in the same microsomal preparations. Investigation of the degradative mechanism of both CYP2E1 and CYP2B1 by immunoquantitation of the proteins in lysosomes and by immunohistochemistry indicated their degradation via an autophagic-lysosomal pathway. The data suggest that CYP2E1 is acutely inactivated in the endoplasmic reticulum and that degradation of this isozyme occurs, at least in part, by the lysosomal route. By contrast, CYP2B1 is principally controlled at the level of synthesis.     

Role of LYS271 and LYS279 residues in the interaction of cytochrome P4501A1 with NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase

It has been proposed that negatively charged amino acids on the surface of reductase and positively charged amino acids on the surface of P450 mediate the binding of both proteins through electrostatic interactions. In this study, we used a site-directed mutagenesis approach to determine a role for two lysine residues (Lys271 and Lys279) of cytochrome P4501A1 in the interaction of P4501A1 with reductase. We prepared two mutants P4501A1Ile271 and P4501A1Ile279 with a mutation of the lysine at positions 271 and 279, respectively. We observed a strong inhibition (>80%) of the 7-ethoxycoumarin and ethoxyresorufin deethylation activity in the reductase-supported system for both mutants. In the cumene hydroperoxide-supported system, P4501A1Ile279 exhibited wild-type activity, but the P4501A1Ile271 mutant activity remained low. The CD spectrum and substrate-binding assay indicated that the secondary structure of P4501A1Ile271 is perturbed. To evaluate further the involvement of these P4501A1 lysine residues in reductase binding, we measured the KM of reductase for wild type and mutants. Both wild type and P4501A1Ile271 reached saturation in the range of reductase concentrations tested with KM values 5.1 and 11.2 pM, respectively. The calculated KM value for P4501A1Ile279 increased 9-fold, 44.4 pM, suggesting that the mutation affected binding of reductase to P4501A1. Stopped-flow spectroscopy was employed to evaluate the effect of mutations on electron transfer from reductase to heme iron. Both wild type and P450Ile279 showed biphasic kinetics with a approximately 40% participation of the fast step in the total activity. On the other hand, only single-phase kinetics for iron reduction was observed for P450Ile271, suggesting that the low activity of this mutant can be attributed not only to major structural changes but also to a disturbance in the electron transport.     

Dynamic mobility of genetically expressed fusion protein between cytochrome P4501A1 and NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase in yeast microsomes.

A fusion protein of rat liver CYP1A1 with NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase was expressed genetically in yeast microsomal membranes. This flavo-cytochrome is active in 6-hydroxylation of zoxazolamine. Rotational diffusion of the fusion protein was examined by observing the flash-induced absorption anisotropy r(t) of the P450.CO complex. Theoretical analysis of r(t) was performed based on a "rotation-about-membrane normal" model. The absorption anisotropy decayed within 2 ms to a time-independent value r(3). Forty percent of the fusion protein rotated with a rotational relaxation time phi of 1.35 ms. Treatment with high salt increased the mobile population of the fusion protein to 62% with phi = 0.96 ms. The mobile population of the fusion protein is close to that of CYP1A1 coexpressed with the P450 reductase and greater than that of CYP1A1 alone [Iwase et al. (1991) Biochemistry 30, 8347-8351]. The large mobile population of the fusion protein provides evidence that CYP1A1 is mobilized by forming associations with P450 reductase in microsomal membranes.     

Inhibitory effects of vitamin A and vitamin K on rat cytochrome P4501A1-dependent monooxygenase activity.

The inhibitory effects of vitamins A and K toward P4501A1-dependent 7-ethoxycoumarin O-deethylation were examined in the reconstituted system containing the microsomal fraction prepared from the recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells producing rat P4501A1 and yeast NADPH-P450 reductase. On vitamins A, all-trans-retinol, all-trans-retinal, all-trans-retinoic acid and retinol-palmitate showed competitive inhibition with K(i) values of 0.068, 0.079, 2.6 and 2.0 microM, respectively. Judging from the K(i) values, the inhibitory effects of those vitamins A appear to have physiological significance on the basis of their contents in liver, lung and kidney. On vitamins K, vitamin K(1) showed competitive inhibition with K(i) value of 24 microM, while vitamin K(2) showed noncompetitive inhibition with K(i) value of 60 microM. Judging from these K(i) values together with the contents of these vitamins K in liver, the inhibitory effects of the vitamins K are not as significant as those of vitamins A. These results suggest that the ingestion of enough amounts of vitamins A from foods might lead to the inhibition of the activity of P4501A1 which is known to be induced by smoking, drugs such as omeprazole and lansoprazole, and environmental pollutants like dioxins.     

Chemical toxicity testing in vitro using cytochrome P450-expressing cell lines, such as human CYP1B1

This protocol describes how to use cytochrome P450-dependent monooxygenase (CYP)-expressing cell lines in toxicity testing of chemicals in vitro. Selected cells amenable to permanently grow in culture are genetically manipulated to stably express single CYP enzymes originating from any species of interest. This expression can be characterized by, for example, determining CYP mRNA content, CYP protein level (western blotting or in situ immunofluorescence) and CYP-mediated enzyme activity (substrate conversion assays). These cells can be used to determine substrate specificities and species differences, e.g., in the bioactivation of drugs. Once constructed, CYP-expressing cells can serve as a straightforward and reliable tool in toxicity testing and the corresponding assays could be adapted for high-throughput analysis. Using these cells, enzyme assays can be performed in a matter of hours. This protocol is exemplified with V79 fibroblasts from Chinese hamster (Cricetulus griseus), modified to express human cytochrome P450 1B1 (CYP1B1). These cells are characterized for their CYP1B1-linked properties by in situ immunofluorescence and their activity in the 7-ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase enzyme assay. This is followed by an assay showing metabolic activation of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon dibenzo[a,l]pyrene by CYP1B1, along with the toxicological endpoints of cytotoxicity and micronucleus formation.     

Role of cytochrome P4501A1 in biotransformation of a tissue specific sarcomagen N-methyldibenzo[c,g]carbazole

7H-dibenzo[c,g]carbazole (DBC) is a potent liver and skin carcinogen, while its synthetic methyl derivative N-methyldibenzo[c,g]carbazole (MeDBC) is tissue specific sarcomagen. It is supposed that sarcomagenic activity of DBC depends on biotransformation at ring-carbon atoms, as with PAH, whereas the heterocyclic nitrogen plays an important role in liver carcinogenicity. The objective of this study was to elucidate the role of cytochrome P4501A1 in metabolic activation of sarcomagenic derivatives of DBC and to characterize the DNA damage profiles induced by DBC and MeDBC in relation to the mode of metabolic activation. The genetically engineered V79MZh1A1 cell line with stable expression of cDNA of human cytochrome P4501A1, the parental V79MZ cell line lacking any cytochrome P450 activity and human hepatocarcinoma Hep G2 cells were used as a model cells. Dose-dependent decrease in colony forming ability (CFA) was found in the V79MZh1A1 cell line after treatment of cells with DBC and MeDBC; however, no change in CFA was induced in parental V79MZ cells. These results were in a good correlation with DNA damaging effects of these two derivatives measured by the alkaline DNA unwinding (ADU) and the modified single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) techniques. Differences in DNA damage profiles induced by DBC and MeDBC were found in V79MZh1A1 and Hep G2 cells. These differences were probably the result of different reactive metabolite formation depending on chemical structure of the molecule and ways of biotransformation. This study showed that the cytochrome P4501A1 took part in activation of sarcomagenic DBC derivatives. Moreover, V79 cell lines with stable expression of different cytochromes P450 in combination with DNA repair endonucleases should be a useful tool for characterization of the role of individual cytochromes in metabolic activation pathways of DBC and MeDBC.     

Herbicide-resistant tobacco plants expressing the fused enzyme between rat cytochrome P4501A1 (CYP1A1) and yeast NADPH-cytochrome P450 oxidoreductase.

Transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum cv Xanthi) plants expressing a genetically engineered fused enzyme between rat cytochrome P4501A1 (CYP1A1) and yeast NADPH-cytochrome P450 oxidoreductase were produced. The expression plasmid pGFC2 for the fused enzyme was constructed by insertion of the corresponding cDNA into the expression vector pNG01 under the control of the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter and nopaline synthase gene terminator. The fused enzyme cDNA was integrated into tobacco genomes by Agrobacterium infection techniques. In transgenic tobacco plants, the fused enzyme protein was localized primarily in the microsomal fraction. The microsomal monooxygenase activities were approximately 10 times higher toward both 7-ethoxycoumarin and benzo[a]pyrene than in the control plant. The transgenic plants also showed resistance to the herbicide chlortoluron.     

Genotoxic activation of 2-phenylbenzotriazole-type compounds by human cytochrome P4501A1 and N-acetyltransferase expressed in Salmonella typhimurium umu strains

Four 2-phenylbenzotriazole (PBTA)-type compounds (PBTA-4, PBTA-6, PBTA-7, and PBTA-8) were identified as major mutagens in blue cotton/rayon-adsorbed substances collected at sites below textile dyeing factories or municipal water treatment plants treating domestic waste and effluents from textile dyeing factories in several rivers in Japan. The main purpose of this study is to understand the basis of the roles of human cytochrome P450 (CYP) and N-acetyltransferases (NATs) in genotoxic activation of PBTA derivatives. We compared the induction of umuC gene expression as a measure of genotoxicity using Salmonella typhimurium TA1535/pSK1002 (parental strain), NM2009 (bacterial O-acetyltransferase-overexpressing strain) established in our laboratories. PBTA-4, PBTA-6, PBTA-7, and PBTA-8 induced the umuC gene expression more strongly in the bacterial O-acetyltransferase-overproducing strain than in the parental strain in the presence of rat S9 mix. We determined the activation of PBTA derivatives by cDNA-based recombinant (Trichoplusia ni) systems expressing human or rat cytochrome P450 enzymes (P450 or CYP) and NADPH-P450 reductase using S. typhimurium NM2009. The results showed that human recombinant CYP1A1 enzyme was much more active than CYP1A2 and CYP3A4 in the genotoxic activation of PBTA-4, PBTA-6, PBTA-7, and PBTA-8. Similarly, rat recombinant CYP1A1 enzyme catalyzed the activation of these chemicals at high rates. alpha-Naphthoflavone, a known inhibitor of CYP1A1, was found to inhibit genotoxic activation caused by PBTA derivatives. We further determined the activation of PBTA derivatives using S. typhimurium NM6001 (human NAT1-expressing strain), S. typhimurium NM6002 (human NAT2-expressing strain), and S. typhimurium NM6000 (O-AT-deficient parent strain) in the presence of S9 mix. PBTA-4 showed almost similar sensitivity in the NAT1-expressing strain and the NAT2-expressing strain, although NAT2-expressing strain exhibited relatively higher sensitivity to PBTA-6, PBTA-7, and PBTA-8 than NAT1-expressing strain. The results support the view that O-acetylation by human NAT1 and NAT2 enzymes is involved in the genotoxic activation of PBTA compounds. These results demonstrate for the first time that human P4501A1 and NATs (NAT1 and NAT2) contribute significantly to the activation of PBTA-type compounds to genotoxic metabolites that induce umuC gene expression in S. typhimurium tester strains.     

Inhibition of human cytochrome P450 1B1, 1A1 and 1A2 by antigenotoxic compounds,purpurin and alizarin

Expanded simple tandem repeat (ESTR) loci include some of the most unstable DNA in the mouse genome and have been extensively used in pedigree studies of germline mutation. We now show that repeat DNA instability at the mouse ESTR locus Ms6-hm can also be monitored by single molecule PCR analysis of genomic DNA. Unlike unstable human minisatellites which mutate almost exclusively in the germline by a meiotic recombination-based process, mouse Ms6-hm shows repeat instability both in germinal (sperm) DNA and in somatic (spleen, brain) DNA. There is no significant variation in mutation frequency between mice of the same inbred strain. However, significant variation occurs between tissues, with mice showing the highest mutation frequency in sperm. The size spectra of somatic and sperm mutants are indistinguishable and heavily biased towards gains and losses of only a few repeat units, suggesting repeat turnover by a mitotic replication slippage process operating both in the soma and in the germline. Analysis of male mice following acute pre-meiotic exposure to X-rays showed a significant increase in sperm but not somatic mutation frequency, though no change in the size spectrum of mutants. The level of radiation-induced mutation at Ms6-hm was indistinguishable from that established by conventional pedigree analysis following paternal irradiation. This confirms that mouse ESTR loci are very sensitive to ionizing radiation and establishes that induced germline mutation results from radiation-induced mutant alleles being present in sperm, rather than from unrepaired sperm DNA lesions that subsequently lead to the appearance of mutants in the early embryo. This single molecule monitoring system has the potential to substantially reduce the number of mice needed for germline mutation monitoring, and can be used to study not only germline mutation but also somatic mutation in vivo and in cell culture.     

Structural characterization of the complex between alpha-naphthoflavone and human cytochrome P450 1B1

The atomic structure of human P450 1B1 was determined by x-ray crystallography to 2.7 Å resolution with α-naphthoflavone (ANF) bound in the active site cavity. Although the amino acid sequences of human P450s 1B1 and 1A2 have diverged significantly, both enzymes exhibit narrow active site cavities, which underlie similarities in their substrate profiles. Helix I residues adopt a relatively flat conformation in both enzymes, and a characteristic distortion of helix F places Phe²³¹ in 1B1 and Phe²²⁶ in 1A2 in similar positions for π-π stacking with ANF. ANF binds in a distinctly different orientation in P450 1B1 from that observed for 1A2. This reflects, in part, divergent conformations of the helix B′-C loop that are stabilized by different hydrogen-bonding interactions in the two enzymes. Additionally, differences between the two enzymes for other amino acids that line the edges of the cavity contribute to distinct orientations of ANF in the two active sites. Thus, the narrow cavity is conserved in both P450 subfamily 1A and P450 subfamily 1B with sequence divergence around the edges of the cavity that modify substrate and inhibitor binding. The conservation of these P450 1B1 active site amino acid residues across vertebrate species suggests that these structural features are conserved.     

Expression, purification, and characterization of Clostridium botulinum type B light chain

A full-length synthetic gene encoding the light chain of botulinum neurotoxin serotype B, approximately 50 kDa (BoNT/B LC), has been cloned into a bacterial expression vector pET24a+. BoNT/B LC was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21.DE3.pLysS and isolated from the soluble fraction. The resultant protein was purified to homogeneity by cation chromatography and was determined to be >98% pure as assessed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel stained with SilverXpress and analyzed by densitometry. Mass spectroscopic analysis indicated the protein to be 50.8 kDa, which equaled the theoretically expected mass. N-terminal sequencing of the purified protein showed the sequence corresponded to the known reported sequence. The recombinant BoNT/B light chain was found to be highly stable, catalytically active, and has been used to prepare antisera that neutralizes against BoNT/B challenge. Characterization of the protein including pH, temperature, and the stability of the protein in the presence or absence of zinc is described within. The influence of pH differences, buffer, and added zinc on secondary and tertiary structure of BoNT/B light chain was analyzed by circular dichroism and tryptophan fluorescence measurements. Optimal conditions for obtaining maximum metalloprotease activity and stabilizing the protein for long term storage were determined. We further analyzed the thermal denaturation of BoNT/B LC as a function of temperature to probe the pH and added zinc effects on light chain stability. The synthetic BoNT/B LC has been found to be highly active on its substrate (vesicle associated membrane protein-2) and, therefore, can serve as a useful reagent for BoNT/B research.     

Functional and conformational modulation of human cytochrome P450 1B1 by anionic phospholipids

We investigated the interaction of human P450 1B1 (CYP1B1) with various phospholipid bilayers using the N-terminally deleted (Δ2-4)CYP1B1 and (Δ2-26)CYP1B1 enzymes. Among anionic phospholipids, phosphatidic acid (PA) and cardiolipin specifically increased the catalytic activities, membrane binding affinities, and thermal stabilities of both CYP1B1 proteins when phosphatidylcholine matrix was gradually replaced with these anionic phospholipids. PA- or cardiolipin-dependent changes of CYP1B1 conformation were revealed by altered Trp fluorescence and CD spectra. However, both PA and cardiolipin exerted more significant effects with the (Δ2-4)CYP1B1 than the (Δ2-26)CYP1B1 implying the functional importance of N-terminal region for the interaction with the phospholipid membranes. In contrast, other anionic phospholipids such as phosphatidylserine and the neutral phospholipid phosphatidylethanolamine had no apparent effects on the catalytic activity or conformation of CYP1B1. These data suggest that the chemical and physical properties of membranes influenced by PA or cardiolipin composition are critical for the functional roles of CYP1B1.