Preparation and physicochemical properties of functional hemoprotein P450 from mammalian tissue microsomes

The optical interconversion of the P-450 and P-420 forms of neuronal nitric oxide synthase: effects of sodium cholate, mercury chloride and urea

We investigated whether or not neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) (EC 1.14.13.39) was converted to the P-420 form on exposure to sodium cholate, mercury chloride or urea, and the reconversion of the P-420 to the P-450 form. Sodium cholate and mercury chloride induced the conversion of nNOS from the P-450 to the P-420 form in concentration- and incubation time-dependent manners, and the nNOS activity decreased. In the presence of glycerol, L-arginine and/or tetrahydrobiopterin, the sodium cholate-treated P-420 form could be reconverted to the P-450 form under constant experimental conditions, and the nNOS activity could also be restored. The mercury chloride-treated P-420 form of nNOS could be reconverted to the P-450 form on incubation with reduced glutathione (GSH) or L-cysteine, and the nNOS activity was recovered. However, no reconversion of the mercury chloride-treated P-420 form to the P-450 form was observed in the presence of glycerol, L-arginine, or tetrahydrobiopterin. Urea (4.0 M) dissociated nNOS into its subunits, but nNOS remained in the P-450 form. The nNOS monomer was more susceptible to sodium cholate. After removing the urea by dialysis, and supplementation of the nNOS solution with glycerol, L-arginine or BH(4), the P-420 was reconverted to the P-450 form, and the reassociation of nNOS monomers was also observed. These results suggested that nNOS was more stable as to exposure to sodium cholate, mercury chloride or urea in comparison to microsomal cytochrome P-450, which may be due to the different heme environment and protein structure.

Microsomal cytochrome P-450-linked monooxygenase systems and lipid composition of human hepatocellular carcinoma

The tissues of hepatocellular carcinoma were operatively resected from six patients. All four components of the systems of microsomal cytochrome P-450-linked monooxygenase of the tissues were investigated and compared to those of normal liver tissue. The concentrations of cytochromes P-450, P-420 and b5 were measured optically and the concentrations of all components except cytochrome P-450 were measured by the Western blotting method followed by immunochemical staining. In microsomes of hepatocellular carcinoma tissues, there was as much cytochrome P-450 and other redox components as in the normal liver tissues, but cytochrome P-450 in liver cancer tissues was unstable and easily converted to cytochrome P-420. The specific activities of NADPH- and NADH-ferricyanide and cytochrome c reductase of each sample were also measured. In the microsomes of the cancer tissues, the specific activities were remarkably reduced compared with those of normal liver tissues. The lipid compositions of the microsomes and the phospholipid/cholesterol ratios (w/w) were 13.1 +/- 3.13 in the cancer tissues and 43.0 +/- 6.74 in normal liver tissues. This difference of the lipid composition elucidates the instability of cytochrome P-450 molecules and the inefficiency of the electron transport of cytochrome P-450-linked monooxygenase systems.

A comparative study on the influence of cysteamine and metyrapone on mixed-function oxygenase activities in variously pretreated liver microsomes from rats and mice

It has been found that metyrapone can inhibit both type I and type II mixed-function oxygenase reactions, while cysteamine inhibits only type I activity in this mammalian system. Following pretreatment with phenobarbital and 3-methylcholanthrene the half-maximal inhibiting concentrations for the O-demethylation of paranitranisol are increased for cysteamine and decreased for metyrapone. Both cysteamine and metyrapone give type II binding spectra with oxidized cytochrome P-450. The negative and positive peaks are at 393 and 426 nm respectively for metyrapone, and 410 and 434 nm for cysteamine. Cysteamine showed no binding comparable to that of metyrapone for reduced cytochrome P-450. Metyrapone showed little or no inhibition of the NADH cytochrome-c reductase (EC 1.6.1.1) or NADPH (EC 1.6.2.3) cytochrome-c reductase while cysteamine had a more or less strong inhibiting effect depending on the pretreatment of animals. Neither the binding to P-450 heme nor the inhibition of NADH and NADPH cytochrome-c reductase correlates well with cysteamine inhibition of total activity. It is therefore suggested that cysteamine reacts with an intermediate electron carrier of non-heme iron or glycoprotein character thus inhibiting mixed-function oxygenase activity.

Steroidogenesis in the zona glomerulosa of the adrenal coretx. I. Isolation and some properties of mitochondria from the zona glomerulosa of the bovine adrenal cortex

Isolation procedures for mitochondria from the zona glomerulosa of the bovine adrenal cortex are described and the properties of the mitochondria thus prepared are compared with those isolated from the zona fasciculoreticularis. The cristal membranes of mitochondria in the zona glomerulosa in situ are tubular or tubulovesicular, whereas those of mitochondria in the zona fasciculoreticularis in situ are vesicular. When mitochondria are isolated from the former zone, they invariably showed the condensed configuration regardless of isolation media, whereas those isolated from the latter zone in an ST medium showed the orthodox configuration. When Ca2+ was added to mitochondria isolated either from the zona glomerulosa or the zona fasciculoreticularis in an STE medium in the condensed configuration, a transition from the condensed to the orthodox configuration tool place; the cristal membranes of mitochondria from the zona glomerulosa became tubular or tubulovesicular and those of mitochondria from the zona fasciculoreticularis became vesicular. Contaminations of mitrochondria of the zona glomerulosa with other cellular organelles were examined using various marker enzymes. There was no difference in cytochrome content between mitochondria of the two zones specified above. The coupling efficiency of mitochondria of the zona glomerulosa was found to be remarkably effected by temperature during the isolation procedures. Effects of various substrates, isolation media, and bovine serum albumin on the coupling efficiency of mitochondria of the zona glomerulosa are also described.