J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 261, Issue 25, 11487-11495, 09, 1986
Mechanism of inactivation of rat liver microsomal cytochrome P-450c by 2-bromo-4'-nitroacetophenone
A Parkinson, PE Thomas, DE Ryan, LD Gorsky, JE Shively, JM Sayer, DM Jerina and W Levin
The mechanism by which 2-bromo-4'-nitroacetophenone (BrNAP) inactivates
cytochrome P-450c, which involves alkylation primarily at Cys-292, is shown
in the present study to involve an uncoupling of NADPH utilization and
oxygen consumption from product formation. Alkylation of cytochrome P-450c
with BrNAP markedly stimulated (approximately 30- fold) its rate of
anaerobic reduction by NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase, as determined by
stopped flow spectroscopy. This marked stimulation in reduction rate is
highly unusual in that Cys-292 is apparently not part of the heme- or
substrate-binding site, and its alkylation by BrNAP does not cause a low
spin to high spin state transition in cytochrome P-450c. Under aerobic
conditions the rapid oxidation of NADPH catalyzed by alkylated cytochrome
P-450c was associated with rapid reduction of molecular oxygen to hydrogen
peroxide via superoxide anion. The intermediacy of superoxide anion, formed
by the one-electron reduction of molecular oxygen, established that
alkylation of cytochrome P-450c with BrNAP uncouples the catalytic cycle
prior to introduction of the second electron. The generation of superoxide
anion by decomposition of the Fe2+ X O2 complex was consistent with the
observations that, in contrast to native cytochrome P-450c, alkylated
cytochrome P-450c failed to form a 430 nm absorbing chromophore during the
metabolism of 7-ethoxycoumarin. Alkylation of cytochrome P-450c with BrNAP
did not completely uncouple the catalytic cycle such that 5-20% of the
catalytic activity remained for the alkylated cytochrome compared to the
native protein depending on the substrate assayed. The uncoupling effect
was, however, highly specific for cytochrome P-450c. Alkylation of nine
other rat liver microsomal cytochrome P-450 isozymes with BrNAP caused
little or no increase in hydrogen peroxide formation in the presence of
NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase and NADPH.