Eight different forms of cytochrome P-450 (P-450) were purified to electrophoretic homogeneity by a common procedure from liver microsomes of rats treated with phenobarbital or beta-naphthoflavone. Antibodies were prepared to seven of these forms in rabbits. The eight P-450s were distinguished by spectral properties of the ferric, ferrous, and ferrous carbonyl forms, apparent monomeric molecular weights, peptide mapping, immunological reactivity as discerned by double-diffusion immunoprecipitin analysis and crossed immunoelectrophoresis, and catalytic activities toward the substrates acetanilide, aminopyrine, aniline, benzo[a]-pyrene, d-benzphetamine, N,N-dimethylnitrosamine, 7-ethoxycoumarin, 7-ethoxyresorufin, ethylmorphine, p-nitroanisole, testosterone, and (R)- and (S)-warfarin. Crossed sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel immunoelectrophoresis was used to estimate the levels of each of the eight forms of P-450 present in the liver microsomes of untreated rats and rats treated with phenobarbital, 5,6-benzoflavone, pregnenolone-16 alpha-carbonitrile, isosafrole, or the polychlorinated biphenyl mixture Aroclor 1254. In each situation, the sum of the levels of these eight P-450s was at least as high as the spectrally determined P-450 content. The results clearly demonstrate that individual forms of P-450 can be induced by different compounds and that a single compound can lower the level of one form of P-450 while inducing one or more other forms of P-450. Catalytic activities toward each of the substrates observed with microsomal preparations are compared to rates predicted on the basis of the content of each of the eight P-450s. These studies provide a basis for further studies on the regulation of individual P-450s, the physical properties of the different P-450s, and the metabolic consequences of changes in the forms of P-450 in rat liver models.

Cytochrome P450 (P450) enzymes are important in the metabolism of steroids, vitamins, carcinogens, drugs and other compounds. Two of the commonly used assays in this field are the measurements of total P450 and NADPH–P450 reductase in biological preparations. A detailed protocol is presented for the measurement of P450 by its spectral properties, along with a protocol for measuring NADPH–P450 reductase by its NADPH–cytochrome c reduction activity. Each assay can be completed in 5–10 min. Detailed explanations for the rationale of particular sequences in the protocols are provided, along with potential confounding problems.

Structure-function relationships for inhibition of human cytochrome P450s (P450s) 1A1, 1A2, 1B1, 2C9, and 3A4 by 33 flavonoid derivatives were studied. Thirty-two of the 33 flavonoids tested produced Reverse Type I binding spectra with P450 1B1, and the potencies of binding were correlated with the abilities to inhibit 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylation activity. The presence of a hydroxyl group in flavones, e.g. 3-, 5-, and 7-monohydroxy-and 5,7-dihydroxyflavone, decreased the 50% inhibition concentration (IC 50 ) of P450 1B1 from 0.6 µM to 0.09, 0.21, 0.25, and 0.27 µM, respectively, and 3,5,7-trihydroxyflavone (galangin) was the most potent, with an IC 50 of 0.003 µM. The introduction of a 4'-methoxy-or 3',4'-dimethoxy group into 5,7-dihydroxyflavone yielded other active inhibitors of P450 1B1 with IC 50 values of 0.014 and 0.019 µM, respectively. The above hydroxyl-and/or methoxy-groups in flavone molecules also increased the inhibition activity with P450 1A1 but not always towards P450 1A2, where 3-, 5-, or 7-hydroxyflavone, and 4'-methoxy-5,7-dihydroxyflavone were less inhibitory than flavone itself. P450 2C9 was more inhibited by 7-hydroxy-,5,7-dihydroxy-, and 3,5,7-trihydroxyflavones than by flavone but was weakly inhibited by 3-and 5-hydroxyflavone. Flavone and several other flavonoids produced Type I binding spectra with P450 3A4, but such binding was not always related to the inhibitiory activities towards P450 3A4. These results indicate that there are different mechanisms of inhibition for P450s 1A1, 1A2, 1B1, 2C9, and 3A4 by various flavonoid derivatives and that the number and position of hydroxyl and/or methoxy groups highly influence the inhibitory actions of flavonoids towards these enzymes. Molecular docking studies suggest that there are different mechanisms involved in the interaction of various flavonoids with the active site of P450s, thus causing differences in inhibition of these P450 catalytic activities by flavonoids.