Mixing apples and oranges: Analysis of heterotropic cooperativity in cytochrome P450 3A4

Arch Biochem Biophys. 2009 Aug 15;488(2):146-52. doi: 10.1016/j.abb.2009.06.013. Epub 2009 Jun 26.

Abstract

Heterotropic cooperative phenomena have been documented in studies with cytochrome P450 3A4, with few attempts to quantify this behavior other than to show the apparent stimulatory effect of certain CYP3A4 substrates on the enzyme's catalytic activity for others. Here CYP3A4 solubilized in Nanodiscs is studied for its ability to interact with two substrates, alpha-naphthoflavone and testosterone, which produce transitions in the heme spin state with apparent spectral affinities (corrected for membrane partitioning) of 7 and 38 microM, respectively. Simultaneous addition of both substrates at fixed molar ratios allows for the separation of specific heterotropic cooperative interactions from the simple additive affinities for the given substrate ratios. The absence of any changes in the normalized spectral dissociation constant due to changes in substrate ratio reveals that the observed stimulatory effect is largely due to differences in the relative substrate affinities and the presence of additional substrate in the system, rather than any specific positive heterotropic interactions between the two substrates.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Benzoflavones / metabolism
  • Binding Sites
  • Cytochrome P-450 CYP3A / isolation & purification
  • Cytochrome P-450 CYP3A / metabolism*
  • Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy
  • Escherichia coli / genetics
  • Heme / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions
  • Protein Binding
  • Solubility
  • Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet
  • Structure-Activity Relationship
  • Substrate Specificity
  • Testosterone / metabolism

Substances

  • Benzoflavones
  • Testosterone
  • Heme
  • alpha-naphthoflavone
  • Cytochrome P-450 CYP3A
  • CYP3A4 protein, human