Drug metabolism by Escherichia coli expressing human cytochromes P450
The broad substrate specificity of the cytochrome P450 (P450) enzyme superfamily of heme-thiolate proteins lends itself to diverse environmental and pharmaceutical applications. Until recently, the primary drawback in using living bacteria to catalyze mammalian P450-mediated reactions has been the p...
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Published in | Nature biotechnology Vol. 15; no. 8; pp. 784 - 788 |
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Main Authors | , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
New York, NY
Nature
01.08.1997
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | The broad substrate specificity of the cytochrome P450 (P450) enzyme superfamily of heme-thiolate proteins lends itself to diverse environmental and pharmaceutical applications. Until recently, the primary drawback in using living bacteria to catalyze mammalian P450-mediated reactions has been the paucity of electron transport from NADPH to P450 via endogenous flavoproteins. We report the functional expression in Escherichia coli of bicistronic constructs consisting of a human microsomal P450 enzyme encoded by the first cistron and the auxiliary protein NADPH-P450 reductase by the second. Expression levels of P450s ranged from 35 nmol per liter culture to 350 nmol per liter culture, with expression of NADPH-P450 reductase typically ranging from 50% to 100% of that of P450. Transformed bacteria metabolized a number of typical P450 substrates at levels comparable to isolated bacterial membranes fortified with an NADPH-generating system. These rates compare favorably with those obtained using human liver microsomes as well as those of reconstituted in vitro systems composed of purified proteins, lipids, and cofactors. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 1087-0156 1546-1696 |
DOI: | 10.1038/nbt0897-784 |