Characterization of mixtures of recombinant human cytochrome P450s as a screening model for metabolic stability in drug discovery

Abstract

1. Recombinant human cytochrome P450 (rh CYP) has become an important screening model in drug metabolism studies due to the high cost of human and animal hepatic tissue. Until now, rh CYPs have been evaluated and used as separate forms, but a mixture of CYP forms comparable with the human liver could be of value in early drug discovery. 2. In the present study, rh CYP2C9, rh CYP2D6 and rh CYP3A4 co-expressed with reductase in Escerichia coli were mixed and evaluated with regards to kinetic properties (K m and V max) . Furthermore, antioxidant was added to investigate whether a free radical scavenger would affect the kinetic parameters. Results were compared with data obtained in human liver microsomes (HLM). 3. Results showed a good correlation between mixed rh CYP data and HLM data for K m and V max. K m varied < 3-fold between matrices for CYP2C9 and CYP3A4, whereas the K m for CYP2D6 varied up to 4.5-fold. V max differed up to 3-fold between matrices for the CYP forms investigated. However, the discrepancy in V max may depend on the anticipated level of each form in HLM. The addition of antioxidant increased V max for CYP2C9 and CYP2D6 by 75 and 50%, respectively, whereas V max for CYP3A4 was unchanged. 4. In conclusion, the rh CYP mixture shows promising results as a predictor of CYP kinetic parameters. Furthermore, addition of antioxidant can in certain cases increase catalytic activity.