The cytochromes P450 (P450s) are important enzymes involved in metabolic pathways, which use exogenous and endogenous substances as their substrate for various enzymatic reactions. These enzymes can also use precarcinogens as their substrate and activate them into carcinogens, which leads to a cancer development. If the P450s are induced, the cancer risk increases. Some chemopreventive compounds may induce the P450s and thus be harmful to the human body. Therefore it is necessary to pay enough attention to a study of the mechanism of action of P450s and the influence of the chemopreventive compounds on the activity of cytochromes P450. mRNA expression of most of the P450s isoforms is detected in a number of healthy (nontransformed) tissues, viz. liver, brain, heart, colon, kidney or placenta. Nevertheless there are a few P450s isoforms which mRNAs are expressed at relatively low levels in the nontransformed tissues, whereas the expression in the transformed tissues is significantly higher. One of these P450s is CYP2W1, which can be used as a prognostic marker for colorectal cancer - therefore it is useful to be able to detect a presence of this enzyme in various tissues. A detection of P450s can be accomplished by using a method Western blot. In this method, the immunodetection is achieved by using...

13 Abstract An environmental pollutant and a human carcinogen benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) is after its activation with cytochrome P450 (CYP) able to covalently bind to DNA. In the thesis, one of the target was to investigate an influence of individual components of mixed function monooxygenase (MFO) system on metabolism of benzo[a]pyrene and generation of adducts of activated BaP with DNA. The study was particularly focused to increase our knowledge on the effect of cyt b5 on metabolism of BaP by cytochrome P450 1A1 (CYP1A1) and its potential to serve as a donor of electrons during the reaction cycle of this cytochrome P450. The effect of cyt b5 on generation of BaP metabolites and adducts of BaP with DNA was investigated. In addition the effect of two different expression systems for cytochrome P450 1A1 (prokaryotic and eukaryotic) was also studied. The influence of cyt b5 on oxidation another xenobiotic compound, a plant alkaloid ellipticine that exhibit antitumor activities, was also investigated. Its pharmacological efficiency, as well as side effects depends on its metabolic activation by cytochrome P450. CYP3A4 is very important for ellipticine activation and therefore this enzyme was used in our experiments. Furthermore, a suitability of rat as a model organism mimicking the metabolic fate of BaP...

Catalytic, selective C-H bond activation for the oxidative hydroxylation RH → ROH of simple or complex compounds is of significant interest in synthetic organic chemistry. One of the major classes of enzymes used for C-H bond activation are cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (EC 1.14.X.X), which can promote chemo-, regio- and stereoselective oxidations under mild reaction conditions. For the current study, catalytically self-sufficient forms of biocatalyst P450cam-RhFRed were investigated. These self-sufficient P450 systems were previously created by fusing the reductase domain of P450 RhF (CYP116B2, RhFRed from Rhodococcus sp.) with the catalytic domain of P450cam (CYP101A1, Pseudomonas putida), thus mimicking the natural fusion of P450 RhF. The generation of 93 P450cam-RhFRed variants has expanded the synthetic toolbox to serve as a basis for exploring the substrate scope towards ethylbenzenes, substituted alkylbenzenes, 4-ethylphenol and (+)-pleuromutilin. To select for active mutants from this library of 93, high throughput screening methods were developed. A pooling approach was applied in order to express P450s and analyse them against a panel of non-natural substrates, such as ethylbenzene, 4-ethylphenol and (+)-pleuromutilin in whole cell biotransformation reactions. The concentration of P450 enzymes was determined using CO difference spectroscopy in whole cells. The assay was significantly improved both in terms of speed and safety by using carbon monoxide releasing molecules as a source of CO rather than the gas CO itself. These screening studies served as starting point to identify P450cam-RhFRed mutants for specific reactions. In particular, a systematic investigation of this library showed mutants that generated chiral benzyl alcohols with good enantioselectivities. To interpret these results on a structural basis, molecular dynamics simulations were used to estimate enantioselectivity of selected mutants for the regio-isomers of methylated ethylbenzene derivatives. The results from the molecular dynamics simulations were broadly consistent with experimentally determined data and identified the importance of conformational changes and flexibility of mutant-substrate complexes to enforce enantioselectivity.

Cytochromes P450 are the major xenobiotics converting enzymes. They are classified as mixed function monooxygenases (MFO). Isoform 1A1 is a extrahepatic form found mainly in the lung and other tissues. It is strongly induced by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and their derivatives via the Ah receptor. As a marker reaction for this enzyme can be used hydroxylation of Sudan I, which has previously been widely used as a azo dye in industry, but since 1980s it is banned for coloring food and cosmetics for its negative influence on the organism. NADPH:cytochrome P450 reductase is the major electron donor for cytochrome P450 catalyzed monooxygenation reactions. Another electron carrier for cytochrome P450 catalyzed reactions is cytochrome b5. It was shown that cytochrome b5 can stimulate, inhibit or have no effect on P450 catalyzed reactions. This thesis aims to evaluate the influence of the ration between NADPH:cytochrome P450 reductase and cytochrome b5 on cytochrome P450 1A1 catalyzed Sudan I hydroxylation. The main goal is to characterize the influence of electron donor and electron transfer ratios on hydroxylation of Sudan I, and to determine the kinetic parameters KM and VMAX for selected protein ratios. Partial aims of the thesis were to characterize the recombinant proteins used in this study...

In plants, P450 enzymes encoded by P450 genes play a central role in numerous biosynthetic pathways, such as the production of secondary metabolites, stress responses and disease resistance. This thesis reports upon the utilization of molecular biology techniques to study P450 gene(s) in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.).Using several combinations of degenerate primers, a large number of barley P450 gene fragments were cloned and sequenced from two commercial varieties, Chebec and Harrington. Among 247 isolated sequences, twenty six percent were homologous to genes of known function. The abundance of these sequences differed between the two cultivars. Variations in the motif sequences of the cloned genes were also found between these two cultivars. In addition to the cloned fragments, twenty-two putative barley P450 encoding genes were identified from 24,000 cereal sequences in the International Triticeae EST Cooperative (ITEC) database by homology search. Among these Expressed Sequence Tag (EST) sequences, a full-length P450 sequence was selected for further investigation in this study.This novel P450 gene, CYP72A39, was expressed at a very early vegetative stage, but no expression was detected at the reproductive stage. Comparison of expression profiles of this gene and "digital expression" databases confirmed that this gene was homologous to several cereal EST clones with tissue-specific transcripts responding to various environmental stimuli, such as stresses and disease. Among these, many transcripts in barley were obtained from stressed tissues at the vegetative stage, and two transcripts in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) were expressed after being challenged by barley powdery mildew pathogen (Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei L.). This suggested that CYP72A39 may play a defence role in the barley seedling.The secondary structure of CYP72A39 was investigated in a comparative analysis using a computational approach. However, attempts to express CYP72A39 in a heterologous system and functional assays of the native protein in barley did not give decisive results, due to the disordered structure of the native protein and limitations of the current method. Screening the 3' UnTranslated Region (3'UTR) of this gene in 158 genotypes of domesticated, landrace and wild barley revealed two haplotypes, which differed by a 12 base indel positioned between two transversions. The presence of both haplotypes in wild and cultivated barley suggests this polymorphism predates the domestication of barley. This indel was mapped to the long arm of chromosome 6H, less than 10 centi-Morgans (cM) from the gene encoding resistance to powdery mildew in barley (B. graminis). A comparison between haplotype diversity and powdery mildew resistance data for over 102 genotypes showed a weak link between the 'long' haplotype and resistance, while the 'short' haplotype was associated with susceptibility. There was no evidence for a strong correlation between haplotype and quality type (malt or feed); however, more malting varieties had the long haplotype, suggesting a possible association with some attributes in modern malting barley. There was no evidence for association with other characteristics such as geographic origin, growth habit or row number. Phylogenetic relationship of the CYP72A39 to other CYP72 members was also investigated.

Master of Philosophy / Clozapine is a drug of choice for treatment of refractory schizophrenia, which is primarily metabolized by Cytochrome P450 1A2 (CYP1A2). Norclozapine is its main metabolite. There are reports of wide ranging gastrointestinal side effects associated with clozapine therapy, that result in concomitant administration of proton pump inhibitors to treat acid-related disorders. Omeprazole is an established CYP1A2 inducer, while an in vitro study has shown that rabeprazole is much less potent in this regard. There is no available information about the impact of rabeprazole on CYP1A2 activity in patients. Firstly, this information is essential when prescriptions are changed from omeprazole to rabeprazole to reduce medication costs. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the effects of rabeprazole and omeprazole on CYP1A2-mediated clearance (CL/F) of clozapine. Secondly, the effective dosage of clozapine varies widely among patients, making it necessary to individualize drug therapy with clozapine. The reason for dosage variation could be due to the influence of patient-related variables on clozapine plasma concentrations. Therefore, another aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between patient variables, such as age, gender, cigarette smoke, weight and body mass index and clozapine clearance (CL/F). A cross-over study design was used for this study. Twenty patients from Macquarie hospital who were receiving clozapine and rabeprazole (with no other interacting medications) were recruited in this study. Blood samples were taken at 30 min, 1 hr, 2 hr and 12 hr after a dose of clozapine. Rabeprazole was then replaced with omeprazole. After at least 1 month blood samples were again collected at the above corresponding intervals after clozapine. The plasma concentrations of clozapine and norclozapine were determined by high performance liquid chromatography. Abbottbase Pharmacokinetic Systems Software, which utilizes Bayesian forecasting, was used to estimate pharmacokinetic parameters of clozapine. The ratio of plasma norclozapine/clozapine concentrations at trough level was used to reflect CYP1A2 activity. No difference was observed in clozapine clearance (CL/F) and CYP1A2 activity during concurrent therapy with either rabeprazole or omeprazole. According to some studies CYP1A2 induction by omeprazole is dose dependent. Furthermore, since rabeprazole is a weak CYP1A2 inducer in vitro, we conclude that omeprazole and rabeprazole may not induce CYP1A2 activity when used at conventional therapeutic dosage (<40 mg/day). Hence, replacement of omeprazole with rabeprazole at conventional therapeutic dosages (20 or 40 mg daily) offers no advantages in the management of patients with schizophrenia on clozapine and no dose adjustment is required. Consistent with previous studies, clozapine concentrations were found to be significantly lower in cigarette smokers due to CYP1A2 induction. No relationship was found between age, gender, or weight and clozapine clearance (CL/F). However, body mass index showed a significant negative correlation with clozapine clearance (CL/F). Since weight gain and lipid accumulation are common side effects of clozapine they may be associated with a reduction of CYP1A2 activity and clozapine clearance (CL/F). Moreover, high lipoprotein levels may decrease the unbound fraction of clozapine and decrease the availability of clozapine for oxidation by cytochrome P450 enzymes. Therefore, it is concluded that omeprazole and rabeprazole may not induce CYP1A2 activity when used at conventional therapeutic dosage (<40mg/day). Hence, replacement of omeprazole with rabeprazole does not require the dose of clozapine to be adjusted. Moreover, the negative correlation between clozapine clearance (CL/F) and BMI is informative. Further studies are now required to clarify the relationship between BMI, lipoprotein levels and clozapine clearance in patients with schizophrenia.

Cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) is a key enzyme responsible for the metabolism of drugs and endogenous compounds in human liver and intestine. CYP3A4 gene expression is mainly regulated by Pregnane X receptor (PXR) which is a ligand-dependent nuclear receptor. It is a long-standing observation that inflammatory responses and infections decrease drug metabolism capacity in human and experimental animals. In this study, I reported that NF-κB activation by LPS and TNF-α plays a pivotal role in the suppression of CYP3A4 through interactions of NF-κB with PXR/RXR complex. Inhibition of NF-κB by NF-κB specific suppressor SRIκBα reversed the suppressive effects of LPS and TNF-α. Furthermore, I showed that NF-κB p65 disrupted the association of PXR/RXRα complex with DNA sequences as determined by EMSA and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays. NF-κB p65 directly interacted with DNA binding domain of RXRα and DNA binding domain, hinge domain and ligand-binding domain of PXR and may prevent its binding to the consensus DNA sequences, thus inhibiting the transactivation by PXR/RXRα complex. This mechanism of suppression by NF-κB activation may be extended to other nuclear receptor-regulated systems where RXRα is a dimerization partner. Many genes regulated by PXR and AhR are important for phase I, II and III drug metabolism. In this study I reported a crosstalk between PXR and AhR pathways. AhR physically and functionally interacted with PXR and enhanced the PXR transcriptional activity, and the interaction repressed the AhR transcriptional activity. AhR also physically interacted with RXRα. The synergistic induction of Gsta1 in the liver of mice by PCN and TCDD might assume a different mechanism. The results suggested the metabolism kinetics of mixture drugs was different from and more complicated than that of single compound. Using a HepG2 cell-based PXR-driven CYP3A4-Luciferase assay, I reported that E/F domain of PXR was responsible for ligand-dependant activation. A/B domain was necessary for co-activating the ligand-dependent activation and D domain was suppressive. High doses of Valerian Root extraction were PXR-dependent CYP3A4 inducers. Green tea polyphenols, aflatoxin B1, CuSO4 and MnCl2 enhanced the PXR transcription activity activated by rifampicin. The results suggested PXR-mediated drug metabolism kinetics altered on xenobiotic exposure.

Cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) is a key enzyme responsible for the metabolism of drugs and endogenous compounds in human liver and intestine. CYP3A4 gene expression is mainly regulated by Pregnane X receptor (PXR) which is a ligand-dependent nuclear receptor. It is a long-standing observation that inflammatory responses and infections decrease drug metabolism capacity in human and experimental animals. In this study, I reported that NF-κB activation by LPS and TNF-α plays a pivotal role in the suppression of CYP3A4 through interactions of NF-κB with PXR/RXR complex. Inhibition of NF-κB by NF-κB specific suppressor SRIκBα reversed the suppressive effects of LPS and TNF-α. Furthermore, I showed that NF-κB p65 disrupted the association of PXR/RXRα complex with DNA sequences as determined by EMSA and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays. NF-κB p65 directly interacted with DNA binding domain of RXRα and DNA binding domain, hinge domain and ligand-binding domain of PXR and may prevent its binding to the consensus DNA sequences, thus inhibiting the transactivation by PXR/RXRα complex. This mechanism of suppression by NF-κB activation may be extended to other nuclear receptor-regulated systems where RXRα is a dimerization partner. Many genes regulated by PXR and AhR are important for phase I, II and III drug metabolism. In this study I reported a crosstalk between PXR and AhR pathways. AhR physically and functionally interacted with PXR and enhanced the PXR transcriptional activity, and the interaction repressed the AhR transcriptional activity. AhR also physically interacted with RXRα. The synergistic induction of Gsta1 in the liver of mice by PCN and TCDD might assume a different mechanism. The results suggested the metabolism kinetics of mixture drugs was different from and more complicated than that of single compound. Using a HepG2 cell-based PXR-driven CYP3A4-Luciferase assay, I reported that E/F domain of PXR was responsible for ligand-dependant activation. A/B domain was necessary for co-activating the ligand-dependent activation and D domain was suppressive. High doses of Valerian Root extraction were PXR-dependent CYP3A4 inducers. Green tea polyphenols, aflatoxin B1, CuSO4 and MnCl2 enhanced the PXR transcription activity activated by rifampicin. The results suggested PXR-mediated drug metabolism kinetics altered on xenobiotic exposure.

Murine cytochrome P450 2A5 (CYP2A5) is an interesting enzyme for its unique regulation and its involvement in liver injury caused by various well-known pathological conditions or hepatotoxins. It has been reported that CYP2A5 is upregulated following exposure to chemical hepatotoxins and during pathophysiological conditions in which the levels of most Cytochrome P450s are either unchanged or down-regulated. Recently bilirubin has been identified as the first endogenous substrate for CYP2A5 and it has been suggested that CYP2A5 plays a major role in bilirubin clearance as an alternative mechanism to BR conjugation by UGT1A1. This study investigated the mechanisms of gene regulation and cytoprotective role of CYP2A5 in response to bilirubin treatment in liver. Our results demonstrate that bilirubin induces CYP2A5 expression at the mRNA and protein levels by increasing CYP2A5 transcription via a mechanism that involves Nrf2 activation. Furthermore, our results suggest that induced CYP2A5 plays a cytoprotective role against bilirubin toxicity by directly lowering the cellular levels of bilirubin and by inhibiting caspase-3 activation.

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