Constitutive forms of rabbit-liver microsomal cytochrome P-450: Enzymatic diversity, polymorphism and allosteric regulation

Abstract

1. Large, independent variations occur among New Zealand White rabbits in the 21-and 6β-hydroxylation of progesterone as catalysed by liver microsomes.

2. These reactions are catalysed respectively by two electrophoretically distinct types of rabbit-liver microsomal cytochrome P-450, 1 and 3b, as judged by their catalytic efficiency and the capacity of specific monoclonal antibodies to extensively inhibit the respective microsomal hydroxylases.

3. The relatively large variations in progesterone 6β-hydroxylase activity do not appear to be associated with differences in microsomal content of cytochrome P-450 3b, whereas differences in the microsomal concentration of cytochrome P-450 1 may underlie variations in 21-hydroxylase activity.

4. Preparations of cytochrome P-450 3b contain at least two catalytically distinct subforms, one of which catalyses both 6β- and 16α-hydroxylation of progesterone with a low K_m while the other subform catalyses predominantly 16α-hydroxylation with a significantly greater K_m.

5. The two catalytic subforms of cytochrome P-450 3b can be independently modulated in vitro by positive and negative effectors that can arise in vivo from the metabolism of progesterone.

6. The 6β-hydroxylase subform of cytochrome P-450 3b is not expressed in a genetically defined strain of rabbits, IIIVO/J, indicating a heritable basis for the differential expression of the two subforms of cytochrome P-450 3b.

7. These results indicate that the extent of cytochrome P-450 multiplicity may be greater than is evident from the isolation of electrophoretically distinct forms of cytochrome P-450, and that small differences in structure may underlie large differences in catalytic properties.

8. It is not known whether the differences among outbred New Zealand White rabbits in the expression of either cytochrome P-450 1 or the subforms of cytochrome P-450 3b reflect regulatory phenomena or genetic polymorphism.