The organization and interaction of monoxygenase enzymes in the microsomal membrane.

Recently, a great number of investigations have been made on the organization and interactions of the monoxygenase enzymes in the microsomal membrane. Different organizational models have been proposed. The report reviews the general distributions and properties of membrane proteins and phospholipids, the incorporation of solubilized cytochrome P-450 into the membrane, the effect of temperature on the monoxygenase activities, and the rate-limiting steps of drug oxidations. It is believed that cytochrome P-450 and NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase are neither rigidly associated in molecular complexes nor randomly distributed in the membrane. Although these proteins do have lateral mobilities, the rate and the extent of the mobility remains to be determined.