Reconstituted hamster liver microsomal enzyme system for N-hydroxylation of the carcinogen 2-acetylaminofluorene

A procedure is described for the isolation of cytochrome P-450 fraction from hamster liver microsomes. It involves removal of NADPH-cytochrome c reductase activity by treatment with bacterial protease before solubilization with Triton X-100 and precipitation with ammonium sulfate. Reconstitution studies indicate that 2-acetylaminofluorene $\text{N}$-and ring-hydroxylation require both cytochrome P-450 fraction and the reductase fraction. $\text{N}$-hydroxylation activity of cytochrome P-450 fraction from 3-methylcholanthrene pretreated hamsters is different and severalfold greater than that of cytochrome P-450 fraction from controls. These results demonstrate for the first time an activation of a chemical carcinogen by a reconstituted cytochrome P-450 enzyme system.     

Effect of detergents on the N-and ring-hydroxylation of 2-acetamidofluorene by hamster liver microsomal preparations.

Effects of detergents such as cholate, deoxycholate and Triton X-100 were studied on N-and ring-hydroxylation of 2-acetamidofluorene by reconstituted and unresolved microsomal systems from livers of hamsters pretreated with 3-methylcholanthrene. Triton X-100 (2.5 mg/nmol of cytochrome P-448) inhibited N-and ring-hydroxylation by wholemicrosomal preparations by 40 and 90% respectively Deoxycholate at the same concentration inhibited both hydroxylations completely, whereas cholate inhibited N-and ring-hydroxylation by 40 and 50% respectively. In reconstitution studies, the presence of Triton X-100(0.5-1.0mg/nmol of cytochrome P-448) along with unsolubilized cytochrome P-448 fraction and solubilized reductase fraction increased N-hydroxylation to an appreciable extent compared with ring-hydroxylation. Both cholate and deoxycholate at 0.5-1.0 mg concentrations had a greater stimulatory effect on ring-than on N-hydroxylation activity in such a reconstituted system.     

Dimethylnitrosamine demethylation by reconstituted liver microsomal cytochrome P-450 enzyme system.

Oxidative demethylation of dimethylnitosamine was studied with both reconstituted and unresolved liver microsomal cytochrome P-450 enzyme systems from rats and hamsters. Proteinase treatment of liver microsomal preparations yielded cytochrome P-450 particulate fractions. Both cytochrome P-450 and NADPH- cytochrome c reductase fractions were required for optimum demethylation activity. Particulate cytochrome P-450 fractions were more effecient than either Triton X-100- or cholatesolubilized preparations of these particles in demethylation activity with rat and hamster liver preparations appear to be due to differences in specificity in their cytochrome P-450 fractions.     

Studies on the rate-determining factor in testosterone hydroxylation by rat liver microsomal cytochrome P-450: evidence against cytochrome P-450 isozyme:isozyme interactions

The aim of the present study was to examine a recent proposal that inhibitory isozyme:isozyme interactions explain why membrane-bound isozymes of rat liver microsomal cytochrome P-450 exert only a fraction of the catalytic activity they express when purified and reconstituted with saturating amounts of NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase and optimal amounts of dilauroylphosphatidylcholine. The different pathways of testosterone hydroxylation catalyzed by cytochromes P-450a (7 alpha-hydroxylation), P-450b (16 beta-hydroxylation), and P-450c (6 beta-hydroxylation) enabled possible inhibitory interactions between these isozymes to be investigated simultaneously with a single substrate. No loss of catalytic activity was observed when purified cytochromes P-450a, P-450b, or P-450c were reconstituted in binary or ternary mixtures under a variety of incubation conditions. When purified cytochromes P-450a, P-450b, and P-450c were reconstituted under conditions that mimicked a microsomal system (with respect to the absolute concentration of both the individual cytochrome P-450 isozyme and NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase), their catalytic activity was actually less (69-81%) than that of the microsomal isozymes. These results established that cytochromes P-450a, P-450b, and P-450c were not inhibited by each other, nor by any of the other isozymes in the liver microsomal preparation. Incorporation of purified NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase into liver microsomes from Aroclor 1254-induced rats stimulated the catalytic activity of cytochromes P-450a, P-450b, and P-450c. Similarly, purified cytochromes P-450a, P-450b, and P-450c expressed increased catalytic activity in a reconstituted system only when the ratio of NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase to cytochrome P-450 exceeded that normally found in liver microsomes. These results indicate that the inhibitory cytochrome P-450 isozyme:isozyme interactions described for warfarin hydroxylation were not observed when testosterone was the substrate. In addition to establishing that inhibitory interactions between different cytochrome P-450 isozymes is not a general phenomenon, the results of the present study support a simple mass action model for the interaction between membrane-bound or purified cytochrome P-450 and NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase during the hydroxylation of testosterone.     

Changes in the ratio of microsomal electron carriers in reconstituted microsomal membranes

The reconstitution of microsomal membrane monooxygenase system with variable contents of the hydroxylating chain enzymatic components was carried out. It was found that during self-assembly of microsomal membranes solubilized with 4% sodium cholate and gel filtration through Sephadex LH-20 in the presence of isolated microsomal enzymes, two forms of cytochrome P-450, i. e. phenobarbital- and 3-methylcholantrene-induced ones, and NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase, the exogenous enzymes are incorporated into the microsomal membrane matrices of control and methyl-cholantrene-treated animals. In the membranes reconstituted from the microsomes of the methylcholantrene-induced animals the catalytic activity of cytochrome P-448 in the metabolism of benz(a)pyrene at varying cytochrome P-448 and NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase contents were investigated.     

Cytochrome P-450 isozyme/isozyme functional interactions and NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase concentrations as factors in microsomal metabolism of warfarin

The basis for our previous observations [Kaminsky, L.S., Guengerich, F.P., Dannan, G.A. & Aust, S.D. (1983) Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 225, 398-404] that rates of microsomal metabolism of warfarin were markedly less than the sum of rates of the reconstituted constituent isozymes of cytochrome P-450 has been investigated. Metabolism of warfarin to 4'-, 6-, 7-, 8-, and 10-hydroxywarfarin and dehydrowarfarin by highly purified rat liver cytochrome P-450 (P-450) isozymes reconstituted with NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase and by hepatic microsomes from variously pretreated rats was used to probe functional consequences of P-450 isozyme/isozyme interactions and of the effect of microsomal reductase concentrations. Binary mixtures of P-450 isozymes were reconstituted and the regioselectivity and stereoselectivity were used to probe metabolism by each individual isozyme. The isozymes specifically inhibited each other to variable extents and the order of inhibitory potency was: P-450UT-F greater than P-450PB-D greater than or equal to P-450UT-A greater than or equal to P-450BNF/ISF-G greater than P-450PB/PCN-E greater than P-450PB-B greater than or equal to P-450PB-C greater than or equal to P-450BNF-B. The inhibition, possibly a consequence of aggregation, explains the low rate of microsomal metabolism relative to the metabolic potential of the component P-450 isozymes. When purified reductase was added to microsomes it appeared to bind to microsomes at different sites from endogenous reductase and it enhanced warfarin hydroxylase activity only to a minor extent, thus possibly precluding low reductase concentrations from being a major factor in the relatively low rates of microsomal metabolism. Antibody to the reductase differentially inhibited microsomal metabolism of warfarin by the various P-450 isozymes. The results suggest that the reductase and P-450 isozymes may be located differently relative to one another in the various microsomal preparations.     

Effect of cis-platinum on kidney cytochrome P-450 and heme metabolism: evidence for the regulatory role of the pituitary hormones

A novel action of the gonadotropic hormones of the adenohypophysis on the regulation of kidney heme metabolism and cytochrome P-450 concentrations is described. The treatment of rats with cis-platinum for 7 days caused a greater than twofold increase in the microsomal cytochrome P-450 and heme concentrations in the kidney. The sodium dodecyl sulfate-gel electrophoresis of the microsomal preparation revealed increased levels of both apocytochrome P-450 and heme in the molecular weight region corresponding to cytochrome P-450. In hypophysectomized rats, similar increases in heme and the cytochrome contents in the kidney were observed. Conversely, the treatment of rats with human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) fully reversed the effect of cis-platinum on heme and cytochrome P-450 concentrations. The cellular basis of increases in concentrations of heme and the hemoprotein was explored by measuring the incorporation of [14C]glycine-labeled hemoglobin heme into the kidney microsomal heme fractions. In comparison with the control rats, the specific 14C activity of heme in microsomal fraction was not increased. Moreover, the effect of cis-platinum on kidney cytochrome P-450 appeared to be unrelated to alterations in the activities of the rate-limiting enzymes of heme biosynthesis and degradation pathways, delta-aminolevulinate synthetase, and heme oxygenase, respectively. On the other hand, ferrochelatase activity and the concentration of total porphyrins in the kidney were profoundly altered by cis-platinum treatment; a twofold increase in ferrochelatase activity and a marked reduction (40%) in the total porphyrin concentration were observed. Also, the activities of uroporphyrinogen-I synthetase and delta-aminolevulinate dehydratase were decreased in cis-platinum-treated animals. The latter effects reflect a direct inhibitory action of cis-platinum. It appears that the cis-platinum-mediated increase in the microsomal heme concentrations involves an accelerated rate of heme production as a consequence of increased ferrochelatase activity. This, in turn, could increase the production of cytochrome P-450. It is suggested that the anterior pituitary hormones control the concentration of the cytochrome P-450 in the kidney, and this process may be interrupted by cis-platinum.     

Loss of haem in rat liver caused by the porphyrogenic agent 2-allyl-2-isopropylacetamide

1. The effect of a single dose of 2-allyl-2-isopropylacetamide on the cytochrome P-450 concentration in rat liver microsomal fraction was studied. The drug caused a rapid loss of cytochrome P-450 followed by a gradual increase to above the normal concentration. 2. The loss of cytochrome P-450 was accompanied by a loss of microsomal haem and by a brown-green discoloration of the microsomal fraction suggesting that a change in the chemical constitution of the lost haem had taken place. Direct evidence for this was obtained by prelabelling the liver haems with radioactive 5-aminolaevulate: the drug caused a loss of radioactivity from the haem with an increase of radioactivity in a fraction containing certain un-identified green pigments. 3. Evidence was obtained by a dual-isotopic procedure that rapidly turning-over haem(s) may be preferentially affected. 4. The loss of cytochrome P-450 as well as the loss of microsomal haem and the discoloration of the microsomal fraction were more intense in animals pretreated with phenobarbitone and were much less evident when compound SKF 525-A (2-diethylaminoethyl 3,3-diphenylpropylacetate) was given before 2-allyl-2-isopropylacetamide, suggesting that the activity of the drug-metabolizing enzymes may be involved in these effects. 5. The relevance of the destruction of liver haem to the increased activity of 5-aminolaevulate synthetase caused by 2-allyl-2-isopropylacetamide is discussed.     

Regulation of cytochrome P-450j, a high-affinity N-nitrosodimethylamine demethylase, in rat hepatic microsomes

Polyclonal antibodies were produced in rabbits against purified cytochrome P-450j isolated from isoniazid-treated adult male rats. The monospecificity of immunoadsorbed antibody to cytochrome P-450j was demonstrated by Ouchterlony double diffusion analyses, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, and immunoblots. Immunoquantitation results indicated that rat liver microsomal cytochrome P-450j content decreases between 3 and 6 weeks of age in both the male and female animal. Several xenobiotics, such as Aroclor 1254, mirex, and 3-methylcholanthrene, repressed cytochrome P-450j levels when administered to male rats. Isoniazid, dimethyl sulfoxide, pyrazole, 4-methylpyrazole, and ethanol were inducers of cytochrome P-450j in rat liver although these compounds showed different inducing potencies. Microsomes from adult male rats with chemically induced diabetes also contained elevated levels of cytochrome P-450j compared to untreated animals. Cytochrome P-450j levels were measurable in kidney, whereas this isozyme was barely detectable in lung, ovaries, and testes; however, extrahepatic cytochrome P-450j was inducible by isoniazid. Approximately 80-90% of microsomal N-nitrosodimethylamine demethylation was inhibited by antibody to cytochrome P-450j whether the microsomes were isolated from untreated rats or animals administered inducers or repressors of cytochrome P-450j. The residual catalytic activity resistant to antibody inhibition may be a reflection of the inaccessibility of a certain amount of cytochrome P-450j due to interference by NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase based on results obtained with the reconstituted system. There was a good correlation (r2 = 0.87) between cytochrome P-450j content and N-nitrosodimethylamine demethylase activity in microsomes from rats of different ages and treated with various xenobiotics. The evidence presented indicates that cytochrome P-450j is the primary, and perhaps sole, microsomal catalyst of N-nitrosodimethylamine demethylation at substrate concentrations relevant to hepatocarcinogenesis induced by N-nitrosodimethylamine.     

Interaction between cytochrome P-448 and NADP-cytochrome P-450 reductase in reconstituted microsomal membranes

The regularities of changes in the functional activity of the microsomal monooxygenase system reconstituted by self-assembly from intact rat liver microsomes solubilized with 4% sodium cholate were studied at variable levels of NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase and the 3-methylcholanthrene-induced form of cytochrome P-450. Using antibodies against cytochrome P-448, the role of cytochrome P-448 in the overall reaction of benzopyrene hydroxylation induced in the microsomal membrane by a set of molecular forms of cytochrome P-450 was investigated. The effect of NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase and cytochrome P-448 incorporation into reconstituted microsomal membranes on benzpyrene metabolism suggests that in intact microsomal membranes benzopyrene metabolism induced by different forms of cytochrome P-450, with the exception of P-448, is limited by reductase is not the limiting component; however, cytochrome P-448 reveals its maximum activity at the cytochrome to reductase optimal molar ratio of 5:1; above this level, the catalytic activity of cytochrome P-448 is lowered.     

Oxidation of arylcyclopropanes by rabbit liver cytochrome P-450. Mechanistic implications of a multiple oxidation.

The arylcyclopropanes (cyclopropylarenes) cyclopropylbenzene and diphenylcyclopropane are oxidized by rabbit liver microsomal cytochrome P-450, both by the microsomal fraction and by the purified cytochrome in a reconstituted system. The products formed, principally benzoic acid, are due to an unusual triple oxidation of the substrate, which probably remains attached to the active site during the several steps of the oxidation. Both substrates were found to be inhibitors of the cytochrome P-450-dependent O-de-ethylation of 7-ethoxycoumarin. Model oxidation studies with cumene hydroperoxide as oxidizing agent and rabbit liver microsomal fraction as source of enzyme gave similar products to the microsomal and reconstituted systems. The significance of these results in the mechanism of oxidation catalysed by cytochrome P-450 is discussed.     

Interaction of cytochrome P-450 with hydrocarbons

Hydrocarbons of different structures interact with microsomal and solubilized cytochrome P-450 from liver of phenobarbital-pretreated rats forming a high spin enzyme-substrate type complex. The affinity of cytochrome P-450 for hydrocarbons increases with increasing lipophilicity independently of the chemical structure. The binding capacity of microsomal P-450 for aliphatic hydrocarbons is generally higher than for aromates. Mutual influence in binding of two different hydrocarbons by microsomal P-450 is stronger among aromatic than among aliphatic hydrocarbons; in both cases it appears to be effected rather by specific interaction of both substances with the binding site than by a nonspecific influence on the microsomal membrane. Only one fraction of low spin form of solubilized cytochrome P-450 from rat liver interacts with hydrocarbons. The binding capacity for aromatic and aliphatic substances corresponds to that found in microsomes. The affinity for the most lipiphilic substrate, perhydrophenanthrene, is equal in microsomal and solubilized preparation; with decreasing lipophilicity the affinity of solubilized P-450 decreases faster than in microsomes. The LM2 fraction of cytochrome P-450 from phenobarbital-pretreated rabbits interacts only with aliphatic hydrocarbons with wide variation of the binding capacity. The affinity is generally one order of magnitude lower than in microsomes. Active fractions of solubilized P-450 from both species are rapidly converted to P-420 by dithionite. The extent of this conversion is strongly reduced by saturation with substrate.     

Purification of cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase from human and rat liver and production of inhibiting polyclonal antibodies

Cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase, the cytochrome P-450-dependent and rate-controlling enzyme of bile acid synthesis, was purified from rat and human liver microsomes. The purified fractions were assayed in a reconstituted system containing [4-14C]cholesterol, and cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase activities in these fractions increased 500-600-fold relative to whole microsomes. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of rat microsomes followed by immunoblotting with polyclonal rabbit antisera raised against purified cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylases revealed two peaks at molecular masses of 47,000 and 49,000 daltons for both rat and human fractions. Increasing amounts of rabbit anti-rat and anti-human antibodies progressively inhibited rat microsomal cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase activity up to 80%. In contrast, monospecific antibodies raised against other purified cytochrome P-450 enzymes (P-450f, P-450g, and P-450j) did not inhibit rat or human cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase activity. Immunoblots of rat microsomes with the rabbit anti-rat cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase antibody demonstrated that the antibody reacted quantitatively with the rat microsomal enzyme. Microsomes from cholesterol-fed rats showed increased cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase mass, whereas treatment with pravastatin, an inhibitor of hydroxy-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase, reduced enzyme mass. Microsomes from starved rats contained slightly less cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase protein than chow-fed control rats. These results indicate a similarity in molecular mass, structure, and antigenicity between rat and human cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylases; demonstrate the production of inhibiting anti-cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase antibodies that can be used to measure the change in cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase enzyme mass under various conditions; and emphasize the unique structure of cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase with respect to other cytochrome P-450-dependent hydroxylases.     

The effect of substrate on the expression of activity catalyzed by cytochrome P-450: metabolism mediated by rabbit isozyme 6 in pulmonary microsomal and reconstituted monooxygenase systems

The content of cytochrome P-450, isozyme 6, in the rabbit pulmonary microsomal fraction was estimated by immunochemical methods to be 1 to 3% of the total cytochrome P-450. Following treatment of rabbits with 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, the pulmonary microsomal concentration of isozyme 6 increased 16-fold. Isozyme 6 was also detected by immunochemical methods, but not by electrophoresis and staining for protein, in preparations of isozyme 5 isolated from the pulmonary microsomal fraction of untreated rabbits. The metabolism of benzo[a]pyrene in these preparations was found to be catalyzed by isozyme 6, not by isozyme 5 as previously concluded. Cytochrome P-450, isozyme 4, was not detected in the pulmonary microsomal fraction from untreated or 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin-treated rabbits. Although benzo[a]pyrene and 7-ethoxyresorufin are both substrates for isozyme 6, the pulmonary microsomal metabolism of these compounds was not increased to the same extent by treatment of rabbits with 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (about 13-fold for 7-ethoxyresorufin and less than 2-fold for BP). However, lack of agreement between increases in isozyme 6 content and activity, and between the relative increases of the activities with the two substrates, was overcome by the addition of purified NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase to the microsomal incubations. When alpha-naphthoflavone, at the minimum concentration required for greater than 90% inhibition of isozyme 6 catalysis, was present in the incubations, no increases in activity were obtained by the addition of purified reductase. The turnover numbers of isozyme 6 in microsomal preparations incubated with purified reductase were similar to those of the purified isozyme in a reconstituted monooxygenase system. The relevance of our results to determinations of the substrate specificities and the microsomal concentrations and activities of isozymes of cytochrome P-450 is discussed. In addition, these parameters are used to assess the extent to which the catalytic potential of isozyme 6 is expressed in the rabbit pulmonary microsomal fraction.     

Metabolization of Porphyrinogenic Agents in Brain: Involvement of the Phase I Drug Metabolizing System. A Comparative Study in Liver and Kidney

(1) We evaluated the involvement of brain mitochondrial and microsomal cytochrome P-450 in the metabolization of known porphyrinogenic agents, with the aim of improving the knowledge on the mechanism leading to porphyric neuropathy. We also compared the response in brain, liver and kidney. To this end, we determined mitochondrial and microsomal cytochrome P-450 levels and the activity of NADPH cytochrome P-450 reductase. (2) Animals were treated with known porphyrinogenic drugs such as volatile anaesthetics, allylisopropylacetamide, veronal, griseofulvin and ethanol or were starved during 24 h. Cytochrome P-450 levels and NADPH cytochrome P-450 reductase activity were measured in mitochondrial and microsomal fractions from the different tissues. (3) Some of the porphyrinogenic agents studied altered mitochondrial cytochrome P-450 brain but not microsomal cytochrome P-450. Oral griseofulvin induced an increase in mitochondrial cytochrome P-450 levels, while chronic Isoflurane produced a reduction on its levels, without alterations on microsomal cytochrome P-450. Allylisopropylacetamide diminished both mitochondrial and microsomal cytochrome P-450 brain levels; a similar pattern was detected in liver. Mitochondria cytochorme P-450 liver levels were only diminished after chronic Isoflurane administration. In kidney only mitochondrial cytochrome P-450 levels were modified by veronal; while in microsomes, only acute anaesthesia with Enflurane diminished cytochrome P-450 content. (4) Taking into account that δ-aminolevulinic acid would be responsible for porphyric neuropathy, we investigated the effect of acute and chronic δ-aminolevulinic acid administration. Acute δ-aminolevulinic acid administration reduced brain and liver cytochrome P-450 levels in both fractions; chronic δ-aminolevulinic acid administration diminished only liver mitochondrial cytochrome P-450. (5) Brain NADPH cytochrome P-450 reductase activity in animals receiving allylisopropylacetamide, dietary griseofulvin and δ-aminolevulinic acid showed a similar profile as that for total cytochrome P-450 levels. The same response was observed for the hepatic enzyme. (6) Results here reported revealed differential tissue responses against the xenobiotics assayed and give evidence on the participation of extrahepatic tissues in porphyrinogenic drug metabolization. These studies have demonstrated the presence of the integral Phase I drug metabolizing system in the brain, thus, total cytochrome P-450 and associated monooxygenases in brain microsomes and mitochondria would be taken into account when considering the xenobiotic metabolizing capability of this organ. Dedicated to the memory of Dr. Susana Afonso     

Effects of phenobarbitone on hepatic microsomal enzyme activity and liver blood flow in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Hepatic microsomal enzyme activity, liver blood flow and pentobarbitone sleeping time were determined in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and normotensive Wistar rats (NR) after pretreatment with saline or phenobarbitone. In NR and SHR the increases in total liver blood flow produced by phenobarbitone were sufficient to maintain liver perfusion despite the increase in liver weight and in both strains of rat the increase was entirely due to increased portal venous return. Saline pretreated SHR had shorter pentobarbitone sleeping times than control NR and their livers had greater total cytochrome c reductase activities and total microsomal protein than those of NR but cytochrome P-450 contents were not significantly different. Phenobarbitone significantly shortened sleeping times in both strains but NR still slept longer than SHR. Total microsomal protein, cytochrome P-450 content and cytochrome c reductase activity were increased by phenobarbitone in both SHR and NR but the increases in cytochrome P-450 and cytochrome c reductase were greater in the hypertensive rats.     

18-Hydroxylation of deoxycorticosterone by reconstituted systems from rat and bovine adrenals.

18-Hydroxylation of deoxycorticosterone was studies with rat or bovine adrenal mitochondria or with reconstituted systems obtained from these fractions. The reconstituted systems consisted of a partially purified preparation of cytochrome P-450 from rat adrenals and a partially purified NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase preparation from bovine adrenals. In some experimenta a soluble cytochrome P-450 fraction from bovine adrenals was used. Adrenodoxine and adrenodoxine reductase were shown to be the active components of the NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase preparation. Optimal assay conditions were determined for 18-hydroxylation by the crude mitochondrial fraction as well as by the reconstituted systems. In the presence of excess NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase fraction, the rate of 18-hydroxylation was linear with time and with the amount of cytochrome P-450. In incubations with intact rat adrenal mitochondria to which Ca2+ and an excess NADPH had been added, NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase increased the rate of 18-hydroxylation about 100%, indicating that NADPH-cytochrome P-45o reductase was to some extent rate-limiting. The rate of 18-hydroxylation of deoxycorticosterone by the reconstituted system as well as by intact mitochondrial fraction was much higher than the rat of 18-hydroxylation of corticosterone and progesterone. When the cytochrome P-450 preparation from rat adrenals in the reconstituted system was substituted for cytochrome P-450 from bovine adrenals, the rate of 18-hydroxylation decreased considerably. Under all experimental conditions, the 18-hydroxylation of deoxycorticosterone occurred with a concomitant and efficient 11beta-hydroxylation. Provided the source of cytochrome P-450 was the same, the ratio between 11beta- and 18hydroxylation was constant under all conditions and was not significantly different in the presence of metopirone, carbon monoxide, cytochrome c or different steroids. It is suggested that identical or at least very similar types of cytochrome P-450 are involved in 11beta- and 18-hydroxylation of deoxycorticosterone.     

Neonatal imprinting and hepatic cytochrome P-450 II. Partial purification of a sex-dependent and neonatally imprinted form(s) of cytochrome P-450

A new form of cytochrome P-450 was partially purified from hepatic microsomes of neonatally imprinted rats (adult male and adult male castrated at four weeks of age). This new form of cytochrome P-450 appears to have an apparent molecular weight of approximately 50,000 daltons as judged by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. It appears that this form of cytochrome P-450 is either absent or present in low concentrations in cytochrome P-450 preparations isolated from neonatally nonimprinted rats (adult female and adult male castrated at birth). Reconstitution of testosterone hydroxylase and benzphetamine N-demethylase activities of this partially purified cytochrome P-450 revealed that the presence of testosterone 16α-hydroxylase activity, an imprintable microsomal enzyme, was in parallel with the imprinting status of the animals; a significantly higher activity was detected in the neonatally imprinted than that of the nonimprinted animals. This was in contrast to the nonimprintable benzphetamine N-demethylase, testosterone 7α-and 6β-hydroxylase activities which exhibited no correlation with the imprinting status of the animals. We have prepared antisera from rabbits using the partially purified cytochrome P-450 preparations from adult male rats as antigens. These antisera inhibited microsomal testosterone 16α- and 7α-hydroxylase activities in a concentration-dependent manner, without impairing 6β-hydroxylase activity. These data suggest that the partially purified cytochrome P-450 from adult male rats consists of both imprintable (16α-) and nonimprintable (7α-) testosterone hydroxylase activities. The antisera formed immunoprecipitant lines in the Ouchterlony double diffusion plates with partially purified cytochrome P-450 from both neonatally imprinted and nonimprinted adult rats. The immunoprecipitant lines, as stained by coomassie blue, suggest the homology of the cytochrome P-450 preparations from neonatally imprinted and nonimprinted rats. Immunoabsorption of the antisera against neonatally nonimprinted, partially purified cytochrome P-450 completely removed the immunoprecipitant lines without appreciably impairing the inhibitory effects of antisera on the microsomal testosterone 16α-and 7α-hydroxylase activities. In contrast, immunoabsorption of the antisera against partially purified cytochrome P-450 from adult male rats (imprinted) abolished completely both the immunoprecipitant lines and the inhibition on microsomal testosterone hydroxylation reaction (16α and 7α). The inhibitory actin of antisera on testosterone hydroxyulation was also abolished upon boiling the antisera at 100°C for 5 minutes. The biochemical and immunochemical data in this study suggest that the neonatally imprintable form or forms of hepatic microsomal cytochrome P-450 accounts for a small fraction of the bulk of total cytochrome P-450. However, the existence of this form of cytochrome P-450 is regulated by gonadal hormones during the neonatal period and accounts for the major imprintable sex difference in drug and steroid metabolism in adulthood.     

Decreased liver cytochrome P-450 in rats caused by norethindrone or ethynyloestradiol.

1. 19-Nor-17alpha-pregna-1,3,5(10)-trien-20-yne-3,17-diol (ethynyloestradiol) or 17beta-hydroxy-19-nor-17alpha-pregn-4-en-20-yn-3-one (norethindrone) but not 17alpha-ethyl-17beta-hydroxy-19-norandrost-4-en-3-one (norethandrolone) caused a time-dependent loss of cytochrome P-450 when incubated in vitro with rat liver microsomal fractions and NADPH-generating systems. 2. The enzyme system catalysing the norethindrone-mediated loss of cytochrome P-450 had many characteristics of the microsomal mixed-function oxidases. It required NADPH and air, and was inhibited by Co. However, it was unaffected by 1 mM-compound SKF 525A. 3. In microsomal fractions from phenobarbitone-pretreated rats the norethindrone-mediated loss of cytochrome P-450 was increased relative to controls. The norethindrone-mediated cytochrome P-450 loss was less pronounced when the animals were pretreated with 3beta-hydroxy-pregn-5-en-2-one 16alpha-carbonitrile (pregnenolone 16alpha-carbonitrile). Pretreatment with 3-methylcholanthrene rendered the animals resistant to the norethindrone effect. 4. Administration in vivo [100mg/kg, intraperitoneally] of norethindrone or ethinyl oestradiol also produced a time-dependent loss of liver cytochrome P-450. Norethandrolone had a similar, though much less-marked, effect. All three steroids lead to an induction of 5-aminolaevulinate synthase and an accumulation of porphyrins in the liver. 5. The loss of cytochrome P-450 and the accumulation of porphyrins in the liver 2 h after the administration of norethindrone to female rats was similar to that seen in males. 6. Rats pretreated with phenobarbitone and given norethindrone or ethynyloestradiol (100mg/kg, intraperitoneally) formed green pigments in their livers. These had characteristics similar to the green pigments produced in the livers of rats after the administration of 2-allyl-2-isopropylacetamide. No green pigments could be extracted from the livers of control rats or those given norethandrolone, oestradiol or progesterone.     

Regulative mechanisms in NADH- and NADPH-supported N-oxidation of 4-chloroaniline catalyzed by cytochrome b5-enriched rabbit liver microsomal fractions

Incorporation into rabbit liver microsomal membranes of detergent-solubilized cytochrome b5 stimulates NADH-supported electron flow to ferric cytochrome P-450, but impairs NADPH-dependent reduction of the pigment such as to make the rates of both reactions equivalent; yet, in the enriched preparations NADPH-driven N-oxidation of 4-chloroaniline proceeds at considerably higher rate than does the NADH-supported process. Analysis of transfer of the second electron to oxyferrous cytochrome P-450, as assessed by measuring substrate-induced reoxidation of ferrous cytochrome b5, reveals faster flow with NADH than with NADPH as the source of reducing equivalents. Quantification of the pools of cytochrome P-450 active in attack on the amine substrate in the presence of either reduced pyridine nucleotide, as well as measurements of maximum arylamine turnover suggest that the cofactor-dependent discrepancy in N-oxidase activity reflects differences in the rates of breakdown of the intermediary enzyme complexes. The NADH- and NADPH-supported pathway of N-oxidation in the cytochrome b5-supplemented microsomal fractions thus probably involves distinct forms of cytochrome P-450. Alternatively, functional linkage of the cofactor-specific electron-transfer chains to a single cytochrome P-450 species might yield aggregates of differing conformational state and catalytic capacity. The latter concept receives support from experiments with individually reconstituted enzyme systems.