In vitro biotransformation of sildenafil (Viagra): identification of human cytochromes and potential drug interactions. (57/1633)

The in vitro biotransformation of sildenafil to its major circulating metabolite, UK-103,320, was studied in human liver microsomes and in microsomes containing heterologously expressed human cytochromes. In human liver microsomes, the mean K(m) (+/-S.E. ) was 14.4 +/- 2.0 microM. A screen of the chemical inhibitors omeprazole (10 microM), quinidine (10 microM), sulfaphenazole (10 microM), and ketoconazole (2.5 microM) only revealed detectable inhibition with ketoconazole. Sildenafil biotransformation (36 microM) was inhibited by increasing concentrations of ketoconazole and ritonavir (IC(50) values less than 0.02 microM), which are established cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4 inhibitors. Using microsomes containing cDNA-expressed cytochromes, UK-103,320 formation was found to be mediated by four cytochromes: CYP3A4, -2C9, -2C19, and -2D6. Estimated relative contributions to net intrinsic clearance were 79% for CYP3A4 and 20% for CYP2C9; for CYP2C19 and -2D6, estimated contributions were less than 2%. These results demonstrate that CYP3A4 is the primary cytochrome mediating UK-103,320 formation and that drugs that inhibit CYP3A4 are likely to impair sildenafil biotransformation.  (+info)

Energy-yielding properties of SoxB-type cytochrome bo(3) terminal oxidase: analyses involving Bacillus stearothermophilus K1041 and its mutant strains. (58/1633)

We isolated a K17q8 mutant from K17 mutant cells of Bacillus stearothermophilus which contain SoxB-type cytochrome bo(3) as well as cytochrome bd but not SoxM-type cytochrome caa(3), which is the main terminal oxidase in B. stearothermophilus K1041. The respiration of K17q8 was highly sensitive to as little as 10 microM cyanide, indicating that the main terminal oxidase is cytochrome bo(3). The aerobic growth yield of K17q8 was lower than that of wild-type K1041, but higher than that of parental K17. The H(+)/O ratio of K17q8 was about 5, i.e. a little lower than the 6.1-6.5 of K1041, but higher than the 2.9-3.1 of K17 [Sone et al. (1999) J. Biosci. Bioeng. 87, 495-499]. Analyses of membrane fragments indicated that K17q8 contains about 0.2 nmol cytochrome bo(3) per mg membrane protein, and scarcely any subunits of cytochromes caa(3) and bd. From the membrane fraction of K17q8, cytochrome bo(3) was purified and shown to be composed of two subunits with apparent molecular masses of 56 and 19 kDa. The enzyme contained protoheme IX and heme O, as the main low-spin heme and high-spin heme. Analysis of the substrate specificity indicated that the high-affinity site is very specific to cytochrome c-551, a cytochrome c which is a membrane-bound lipoprotein of thermophilic Bacillus. The I(50) of purified cytochrome bo(3) was determined to be 4 microM, indicating that cytochrome bo(3) among the three terminal oxidases in B. stearothermophilus was most susceptible to cyanide. The respiration of K17q8 was mostly inhibited by the addition of cyanide at this concentration.  (+info)

Comparison of methods for quantification of cytochrome cd(1)-denitrifying bacteria in environmental marine samples. (59/1633)

Two PCR primer sets were developed for the detection and quantification of cytochrome cd(1)-denitrifying bacteria in environmental marine samples. The specificity and sensitivity of these primers were tested. Both primer sets were suitable for detection, but only one set, cd3F-cd4R, was suitable for the quantification and enumeration of the functional community using most-probable-number PCR and competitive PCR techniques. Quantification of cytochrome cd(1) denitrifiers taken from marine sediment and water samples was achieved using two different molecular techniques which target the nirS gene, and the results were compared to those obtained by using the classical cultivation method. Enumerations using both molecular techniques yielded similar results in seawater and sediment samples. However, both molecular techniques showed 1,000 or 10 times more cytochrome cd(1) denitrifiers in the sediment or water samples, respectively, than were found by use of the conventional cultivation method for counting.  (+info)

The respiratory chain of Hydrogenomonas H16. (60/1633)

The respiratory chain of Hydrogenomonas H16 is shown to consist of two pathways, one of which has as its oxidase and only cytochrome a high-potential b-type cytochrome which is concluded to be cytochrome o. The Km values for the oxygen of the two pathways are consistent with the high-potential b-type cytochrome functioning as a relatively high-affinity oxidase.  (+info)

Characterization and amino acid sequences of cytochromes c6 from two strains of the green alga Chlorella vulgaris. (61/1633)

Cytochromes c6 from the green algae Chlorella vulgaris CK-5 (CK5cyc6) and C. vulgaris CK-22 (CK22cyc6) were characterized and their amino acid sequences were analyzed. CK5cyc6 had a molecular mass of 9.3 kDa, isoelectric points of 3.0 (reduced) and 3.6 (oxidized), and a redox potential of +362 mV at pH 7.0. CK22cyc6 had a molecular mass of 9.5 kDa, isoelectric points of 2.9 (reduced) and 3.5 (oxidized), and a redox potential of +355 mV at pH 7.0. The absorption spectra of both cytochromes c6 showed 4 maxima in reduced form, and 2 maxima and a weak peak at 695 nm in oxidized form. The pyridine ferrohemochrome spectra indicated that their prosthetic group was heme c. These physicochemical properties were similar to those of other algal cytochromes c6. The amino acids (88 residues) of CK5cyc6 and CK22cyc6 were sequenced and the sequence motif -CXXCH-, which is typical of the heme-binding site of c-type cytochrome, was clearly confirmed in both cytochromes. Twenty-six amino acid residues were substituted, and the similarity score of each of them was 70.45%.  (+info)

The Crd1 gene encodes a putative di-iron enzyme required for photosystem I accumulation in copper deficiency and hypoxia in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. (62/1633)

Chlamydomonas reinhardtii adapts to copper deficiency by degrading apoplastocyanin and inducing Cyc6 and Cpx1 encoding cytochrome c(6) and coproporphyrinogen oxidase, respectively. To identify other components in this pathway, colonies resulting from insertional mutagenesis were screened for copper- conditional phenotypes. Twelve crd (copper response defect) strains were identified. In copper-deficient conditions, the crd strains fail to accumulate photosystem I and light-harvesting complex I, and they contain reduced amounts of light-harvesting complex II. Cyc6, Cpx1 expression and plastocyanin accumulation remain copper responsive. The crd phenotype is rescued by a similar amount of copper as is required for repression of Cyc6 and Cpx1 and for maintenance of plastocyanin at its usual stoichiometry, suggesting that the affected gene is a target of the same signal transduction pathway. The crd strains represent alleles at a single locus, CRD1, which encodes a 47 kDa, hydrophilic protein with a consensus carboxylate-bridged di-iron binding site. Crd1 homologs are present in the genomes of photosynthetic organisms. In Chlamydomonas, Crd1 expression is activated in copper- or oxygen-deficient cells, and Crd1 function is required for adaptation to these conditions.  (+info)

Characterization of a succinate dehydrogenase complex solubilized from the cytoplasmic membrane of Bacillus subtilis with the nonionic detergent Triton X-100. (63/1633)

A succinic dehydrogenase (SDH) complex has been purified from Triton X-100-solubilized membranes from Bacillus subtilis by precipitation with specific antibody. Radioactively labeled precipitated complex was analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis followed by autoradiography of the gels. The complex contained equimolar amounts of three polypeptides with approximate molecular weights of 65,000, 28,000, and 19,000. Five succinic dehydrogenase-negative mutants, belonging to the citF group, contained the 65,000-dalton polypeptide in a soluble form in the cytoplasm. Each 65,000-dalton polypeptide had about one molecule of flavin bound. Another citF mutant, citF11, which lacks the 65,000-dalton polypeptide, contained a membrane-bound 28,000-dalton polypeptide. The wild-type succinic dehydrogenase complex contained cytochrome, probably a cytochrome b. The 19,000-dalton polypeptide is suggested to represent the apoprotein of this cytochrome. The 65,000-dalton and the 28,000-dalton polypeptides are thought to constitute succinic dehydrogenase and to correspond to the flavoprotein and the ironprotein, respectively, as described for succinic dehydrogenase isolated from beef heart mitochondria or Rhodospirillum rubrum chromatophores. The results presented suggest that in B. subtilis succinic dehydrogenase is attached to a cytochrome b in the membrane via the 28,000-dalton (ironprotein) polypeptide.  (+info)

X-ray crystallographic study of cyanide binding provides insights into the structure-function relationship for cytochrome cd1 nitrite reductase from Paracoccus pantotrophus. (64/1633)

We present a 1.59-A resolution crystal structure of reduced Paracoccus pantotrophus cytochrome cd(1) with cyanide bound to the d(1) heme and His/Met coordination of the c heme. Fe-C-N bond angles are 146 degrees for the A subunit and 164 degrees for the B subunit of the dimer. The nitrogen atom of bound cyanide is within hydrogen bonding distance of His(345) and His(388) and either a water molecule in subunit A or Tyr(25) in subunit B. The ferrous heme-cyanide complex is unusually stable (K(d) approximately 10(-6) m); we propose that this reflects both the design of the specialized d(1) heme ring and a general feature of anion reductases with active site heme. Oxidation of crystals of reduced, cyanide-bound, cytochrome cd(1) results in loss of cyanide and return to the native structure with Tyr(25) as a ligand to the d(1) heme iron and switching to His/His coordination at the c-type heme. No reason for unusually weak binding of cyanide to the ferric state can be identified; rather it is argued that the protein is designed such that a chelate-based effect drives displacement by tyrosine of cyanide or a weaker ligand, like reaction product nitric oxide, from the ferric d(1) heme.  (+info)