Purification of cytochrome P-450 from polychlorinated biphenyl-treated crab-eating monkeys: high homology to a form of human cytochrome P-450

Cytochrome P-450, designated as P-450-MK2, was purified to an electrophoretic homogeneity from polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)-treated female crab-eating monkeys. P-450-MK2 catalyzed nifedipine and nilvadipine oxidations, at a rate comparable to human P-450-HM1. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of P-450-MK2 was highly homologous to those of P-450-HM1 and NF 25. The antibodies to P-450-HM1 recognized P-450-MK2 and effectively inhibited the activity of testosterone 6 beta-hydroxylase in monkey liver microsomes. These results suggest that a form of cytochrome P-450 corresponding to human P-450-HM1 or P-450NF which belongs to the P450 III gene family is also present in liver microsomes of crab-eating monkeys.     

Kinetic deuterium isotope effects on the N-demethylation of tertiary amides by cytochrome P-450

Liver microsomal cytochrome P-450 readily N-dealkylates N,N-dimethylamides. N-Methyl-N-hydroxymethyl amides were isolated as intermediates and characterized by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry as their trimethylsilyl ethers. Intramolecular kinetic deuterium isotope effects measured for the enzymic N-demethylation of a series of 12 aromatic and aliphatic N-methyl-N-trideuteriomethyl amides, RCON(CH3)CD3, varied from 3.6 to 6.9 but were independent of both amide bond rotation rate and substrate oxidation potential. These values, which represent a lower limit to the intrinsic isotope effect (Dkintrinsic), are significantly larger than those observed for anodic N-demethylation and are consistent with a mechanism involving hydrogen atom abstraction. On the other hand, with N,N-dimethylbenzamide the intermolecular kinetic deuterium isotope effects on Vmax and Vmax/Km were found to be much smaller (1.23 and 1.75, respectively) indicating substantial suppression of the intrinsic isotope effect. Such suppression indicates the occurrence of a rate-limiting step other than the isotopically sensitive step together with a strong commitment to catalysis.     

A form of rabbit liver cytochrome P-450 that catalyzes the 7 alpha-hydroxylation of cholesterol

A form of cytochrome P-450 which comigrates with cytochrome P-450LM4 (molecular weight, 55 000) on SDS-polyacrylamide gel was purified from liver microsomes of cholestyramine-treated rabbits. This form of cytochrome P-450 catalyzed the 7 alpha-hydroxylation of cholesterol with an activity of 37.5 pmol/min per nmol cytochrome P-450 in the reconstituted enzyme system containing cytochrome P-450 and NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase. The substrate specificity of this form of cytochrome P-450 was compared with cytochrome P-450LM4 isolated from phenobarbital- and beta-naphthoflavone-treated rabbit liver microsomes. The latter two isoenzymes do not catalyze 7 alpha-hydroxylation of cholesterol, but are more active in O-deethylation of 7-ethoxycoumarin and p-nitrophenetole. Ouchterlony double diffusion revealed cross-reactivity between anti-P-450LM4 (phenobarbital) IgG and cytochrome P-450 isolated from cholestyramine- or beta-naphthoflavone-treated rabbit liver microsomes. A two-dimensional iodinated tryptic peptide fingerprint indicated only minor structural differences among these three cytochrome P-450LM4 preparations.     

Prochiral selectivity and intramolecular isotope effects in the cytochrome P-450 catalyzed omega-hydroxylation of cumene

A kinetic model is presented from which steady-state equations are derived that describe the intramolecular competition for the enzymatically mediated hydroxylation of two like groupings of a prochiral substrate. The observed isotope effect in such a system if one of the groupings is isotopically labeled is shown to be a function of three parameters: the equilibrium constant for the catalytically sensitive orientations of the two prochiral groupings at the active site, the intrinsic isotope effect associated with the bond-breaking step, and the relative rates of bond breaking vs. enzyme-substrate dissociation. The expected isotope effects associated with the omega-hydroxylation of racemic, (R)-, and (S)-2-phenylpropane-1,1,1-d3 and the product stereoselectivity associated with the omega-hydroxylation of (R)- and (S)-[1-13C]-2-phenylpropane were determined with microsomal preparations (cytochrome P-450) from untreated and phenobarbital- and beta-naphthoflavone-pretreated male Sprague-Dawley rats. The data from these experiments allow the observed isotope effect to be evaluated in terms of its component parts, i.e., expected isotope effects, product stereoselectivity, and equilibrium constant. These data further suggest that the intramolecular isotope effect is consistent with a hydrogen abstraction recombination mechanism and is largely dependent upon the chemical nature of the porphyrin-Fe-oxene complex but independent of specific apoprotein structure, product stereoselectivity is primarily dependent upon apoprotein structure, and product stereoselectivity is a good measure of the equilibrium constant and both parameters are dependent upon the chirality of the active site.     

Metyrapone - reduced cytochrome P-450 complex: A specific method for the determination of the phenobarbital inducible form of rat hepatic microsomal cytochrome P-450

Using homogeneous cytochrome P-450, we have shown that the well-known metyrapone-dithionite reduced cytochrome P-450 complex is specific for the cytochrome P-450b induced by phenobarbital. A linear relationship was observed between the absorbance of metyrapone-reduced cytochrome P-450 complex and the one of CO-reduced cytochrome P-450 complex, the usual method for the determination of cytochrome P-450. A method has been proposed for the specific determination of the cytochrome P-450b.     

Model systems for the coordination chemistry of cytochrome P-450.

Studies on model complexes have supported the presence of a mercaptide as the fifth ligand of cytochrome P-450 monooxygenases. When alcohol or thiol ligands are added to the sixth coordination position of a five-coordinated 4-nitrobenzene thiolate complex of FeIII protoporphyrin IX dimethyl ester chloride low spin complexes with optical and EPR-spectra very similar to cytochrome P-450 are obtained. From a comparison with all ligands of cytochrome P-450 and the model complexes it is concluded that a hard ligands must occupy the sixth coordination position of cytochrome P-450. An imidazole group is less likely, also in view of the ligand field parameters. The significance of the fifth and sixth ligand of cytochrome P-450 is discussed with respect to the monooxygenase mechanism.     

Inter- and intramolecular deuterium isotope effects on the cytochrome P-450-catalyzed oxidative dehalogenation of 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane

The oxidation of 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane to dichloroacetic acid was investigated with rat liver microsomes and purified cytochrome P-450. Deuterium substitution had no effect on Km values, but both the inter- and intramolecular isotope effects (kH/kD) on Vmax were in the range 5.7-6.1. The equivalence of the inter- and intramolecular values indicates that 6.0 may be a good estimate of the intrinsic isotope effect. The intermolecular kH/kD value for the conversion of 1,1,2,2-trichloroethane and its 1-2H analog to chloroacetic acid was 5.5. These data, and the finding that 1 atom of 18O was incorporated into the product when TCEA was oxidized in an 18O2 atmosphere, support an oxidative dechlorination mechanism that involves hydrogen atom abstraction by the P-450 intermediate oxo complex.     

Proton coupling in the ligand-binding reaction of ferric cytochrome P-450 from Pseudomonas putida

Effects of pH on the ligand-binding reactions of ferric heme in cytochrome P-450 from Pseudomonas putida (camphor 5-monooxygenase, EC 1.14.15.1) were studied by using cyanide, N-methylimidazole, pyridine, and ethylisocyanide as ligands. In all cases, affinity of the ferric heme for the ligand was found to increase as pH of the medium was raised from around 6 to 9. Depending on the ligand, the increase was 10- to 1000-fold and the shapes of their pH-affinity curves were remarkably different. Analyses such pH profiles disclosed the presence of a dissociable group in the enzyme with a pK value of approximately 9.5 and that its ionization greatly enhanced the affinity of the heme for ligands. When a dissociable ligand such as hydrogen cyanide and N-methylimidazole was used, the dissociated form of the ligand had a higher affinity toward the heme than the undissociated form. The shapes of the pH-affinity curves were successfully simulated as overlapping curves of ionization reactions of the ligand and the dissociable group. In addition, size of the ligand molecule was shown to be also important in the binding reaction: relatively large molecules such as pyridine, ethylisocyanide, and N-methylimidazole bound to the enzyme in a competitive manner against d-camphor concentration, whereas the binding of a smaller molecule such as cyanide was inhibited by the substrate in a noncompetitive manner. On the basis of these findings, control mechanisms for the ligand-binding reactions of the cytochrome P-450 from P. putida are discussed.     

Limitations on the metyrapone assay for the major phenobarbital inducible form of cytochrome P-450

Limitations on the determination of the concentration of the major phenobarbital inducible form of cytochrome P-450 (P-450b) in hepatic microsomes by the metyrapone assay of Luu-The $\text{et al.}$ (1) are reported. Compounds which bind to the Type I, II and IR binding sites, or convert cytochrome P-450 to P-420, decrease the apparent concentration of cytochrome P-450b by 20 to 100% in hepatic microsomes from untreated and pregnenolone-16α-carbonitrile or phenobarbital treated rats. It is calculated that errors of greater ca. 40% in the concentration of cytochrome P-450b can arise in the presence of appreciable quantities of the major pregnenolone-16α-carbonitrile or polycyclic hydrocarbon inducible forms of cytochrome P-450.     

Characterization of human sterol 27-hydroxylase. A mitochondrial cytochrome P-450 that catalyzes multiple oxidation reaction in bile acid biosynthesis.

The enzyme sterol 27-hydroxylase catalyzes the first step in the oxidation of the side chain of sterol intermediates in the bile acid synthesis pathway. Human sterol 27-hydroxylase cDNAs were isolated from a liver cDNA library by cross-hybridization with a previously cloned rabbit cDNA probe. DNA sequence analysis of hybridization-positive clones predicted a human sterol 27-hydroxylase consisting of a 33-amino-acid mitochondrial signal sequence followed by a mature protein of 498 amino acids. RNA blotting experiments demonstrated sterol 27-hydroxylase mRNAs of approximately 1.8 to 2.2 kilobases in liver and fibroblast cells. The steady state levels of the mRNA did not change when cultured cells were grown in the presence or absence of sterols. Introduction of the sterol 27-hydroxylase cDNA into Simian COS cells resulted in the expression of active enzyme capable of catalyzing multiple oxidation reactions (R-CH3----R-CH2OH----R-COOH) at carbon 27 of sterol intermediates of the bile acid synthesis pathway.     

P-450 HFLa, a form of cytochrome P-450 purified from human fetal livers, is the 16 alpha-hydroxylase of dehydroepiandrosterone 3-sulfate

In a reconstituted system containing NADPH, dilauroyl-L-3-phosphatidylcholine, and NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase purified from rat liver microsomes, cytochrome P-450 (P-450 HFLa) purified from human fetal livers catalyzed the 16 alpha-hydroxylation of dehydroepiandrosterone 3-sulfate (DHEA-sulfate). Addition of cytochrome b5 purified from rat liver microsomes to the reconstituted system resulted in a remarkable increase in the hydroxylase activity. The level of P-450 HFLa in liver homogenates from human fetuses highly correlated with the activity of DHEA-sulfate 16 alpha-hydroxylase. Antibodies to P-450 HFLa inhibited the 16 alpha-hydroxylation of DHEA-sulfate in a dose-dependent manner. The NH2-terminal amino acid sequence of P-450 HFLa was similar to that of P-450NF (Beaune, P. H., Umbenhauer, D. R., Bork, R. W., Lloyd, R. S., and Guengerich, F. P. (1986) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 83, 8064-8068). We conclude that P-450 HFLa is a form of cytochrome P-450 involved in the 16 alpha-hydroxylation of DHEA-sulfate.     

Deuterium isotope effects in norcamphor metabolism by cytochrome P-450cam: kinetic evidence for the two-electron reduction of a high-valent iron-oxo intermediate

The kinetics of NADH consumption, oxygen uptake, and hydrogen peroxide production have been studied for norcamphor metabolism by cytochrome P-450cam. The kinetic deuterium isotope effects on these processes, with specifically deuteriated norcamphor, are 0.77, 1.22, and 1.16, respectively. Steady-state UV-visible spectroscopy indicates that transfer of the second electron to the dioxy ferrous P-450 is the rate-limiting step, as it is when camphor is the substrate. The inverse deuterium isotope effect for NADH consumption is consistent with an isotope-dependent branching between monooxygenase and oxidase activity, where these reactivities differ in their NADH:oxygen stoichiometries. However, no isotope-dependent redistribution of steady-state intermediates was detected by isotopic difference UV-visible spectroscopy in the presence of norcamphor. The kinetic isotope effects and steady-state spectral results suggest that the high-valent iron-oxo hydroxylating intermediate [FeO]3+ is reduced by NADH and the physiological electron-transfer proteins to afford water.     

Separation and analysis of immunochemical properties of multiple forms of cytochrome P-450 from the rat liver

Four cytochromes P-450 induced by phenobarbital (PB-1--PB-4) and two cytochromes P-450 induced by S-methylcholanthrene (MC-1, MC-2) were purified to electrophoretic homogeneity from rat liver microsomes. The purification procedure involved sequential chromatography on n-aminooctyl-Sepharose 4B, DEAE-Sephacel and hydroxylapatite columns. The spectral and immunochemical properties of the cytochromes P-450 were estimated. All, but MC-1, cytochromes P-450 were found to exist in a low spin state. Using the Ouchterlony double diffusion method, it was shown that all cytochromes P-450 under study can be divided into two groups, i. e., PB-1--PB-2 and PB-3--PB-4, sharing common antigenic determinants inside the groups. High performance liquid chromatography of PB-3 and MC-2 on anion-exchangers yielded two additional peaks from the PB-induced major cytochrome P-450 PB-3 and three peaks from the MC-induced major cytochrome P-450 MC-2. The multiplicity of cytochrome P-450 forms is discussed.     

Kinetic isotope effects on cytochrome P-450-catalyzed oxidation reactions: full expression of the intrinsic isotope effect during the O-deethylation of 7-ethoxycoumarin by liver microsomes from 3-methylcholanthrene-induced hamsters

The intrinsic primary deuterium isotope effect for the O-deethylation of 7-ethoxycoumarin has been estimated by the Northrop method [D. B. Northrop (1977) in Isotope Effects on Enzyme-Catalyzed Reactions (Cleland, W. W., O'Leary, M. H., and Northrop, D. B., eds.), pp. 122-152, University Park Press, Baltimore] for the microsomal cytochrome P-448 system from 3-methylcholanthrene-induced hamster livers. The intrinsic isotope effect (Dk = 5.5) was found to be equivalent to the observed deuterium isotope effect, demonstrating that the isotope effect for this reaction was fully expressed by this cytochrome P-448 system. These data unequivocally demonstrate that C-H bond cleavage is the rate-limiting step in the overall reaction catalyzed by this system. The decrease in the rate of product formation, occurring as a consequence of deuterium substitution, resulted in a reduction in the quantity of substrate metabolized but was not accompanied by the change in regiospecificity observed in previous studies with a hepatic cytochrome P-448 isozyme purified from 3-methylcholanthrene-induced rats. These data demonstrate that the catalytic site of the hamster isozyme(s) offers more constraints to 7-ethoxycoumarin reorientation than does the catalytic site of the rat liver isozyme.     

Determination of multiple forms of cytochrome P-450 in microsomes from the digestive gland of Cryptochiton stelleri

Polyclonal antibodies raised against purified trout cytochromes P-450 (P-450) LM2 (anti-LM2) and LM4b (anti-LM4b) were used in Western blot analyses with digestive gland microsomes from control and beta-naphthoflavone (BNF)-treated gumboot chitons Cryptochiton stelleri. An increase and decrease in staining intensity subsequent to treatment with anti-LM4b and anti-LM2, respectively, was observed in digestive gland microsomes from BNF-treated chiton. Thus, there appears to be at least two forms of P-450 in microsomes from the digestive gland of Cryptochiton; one of which is induced by BNF and perhaps is involved in benzo(a)pyrene (BP) biotransformation, and another form which is inhibited by BNF.     

Isolation and sequence analysis of three cloned cDNAs for rabbit liver proteins that are related to rabbit cytochrome P-450 (form 2), the major phenobarbital-inducible form

We have isolated from rabbit liver three cDNA clones of 1400-1800 base pairs that hybridize selectively to RNA from animals treated with phenobarbital. The nucleotide sequences of the cDNAs have been determined. In the protein coding region the nucleotide sequences of two of the cDNAs are 88% homologous, and the third cDNA is about 72-74% homologous to the other two. All three are 55-60% homologous to rat liver cytochrome P-450b cDNA. The amino acid sequences derived from the cDNA sequences are about 50% homologous to those of rat liver cytochrome P-450b and rabbit liver cytochrome P-450 (form 2). The degree of homology differs substantially in different regions of the protein. The hydrophobicity profiles of these five mammalian cytochromes P-450 are very similar and contain up to eight regions of hydrophobicity that are long enough to span a membrane. These results indicate that these three cDNAs code for rabbit liver cytochromes P-450 which are different from any rabbit liver cytochrome P-450 for which amino acid sequence information is published. These cDNAs are part of a family of genes that are related to rabbit liver cytochrome P-450 (form 2) and rat liver cytochrome P-450b which are the major phenobarbital-inducible forms. The divergence of amino acid sequence between the rat and rabbit forms and the divergence of nucleotide sequences of silent sites in the two most closely related rabbit forms suggest that cytochromes P-450 have a relatively high rate of amino acid divergence compared to many other vertebrate proteins.