Analysis of drug transport and metabolism in cell monolayer systems that have been modified by cytochrome P4503A4 cDNA-expression.

Human CYP3A4, the major human, intestinal, drug metabolizing cytochrome P450, has been introduced into three mammalian cell lines (Caco-2, MDCK and LLC-PK1) suitable for making drug permeability measurements. The levels and stability of expression were analyzed by enzyme assays (testosterone 6beta-hydroxylase and nifedipine oxidase). Long term, stable CYP3A4 expression/cell growth rate was obtained in MDCK cells. In the LLC-PK1 system, shorter term, stable expression was achieved. However, in Caco-2 cells, derivatives with better properties than those previously reported could not be obtained. The highest level of CYP3A4 catalytic activity was obtained in LLC-PK1 cells. In this system, CYP3A4 activity levels appeared comparable to median level human intestinal microsomes. Metabolite formation and inhibition kinetics were examined in cell monolayers. Nifedipine was found to be extensively metabolized (19%) during passage across cell monolayers. In general, affinity related parameters (apparent Km and apparent Ki) were 1.5- to three-fold higher under conditions of flux through the monolayers relative to steady-state conditions. These systems should be useful for examining the role of intestinal CYP3A4 in first-pass metabolism and drug-drug interactions.

Detection and characterization of novel polymorphisms in the CYP2E1 gene.

To investigate whether interindividual variation in CYP2E1 levels can be explained by genetic polymorphism, we analysed DNA samples from 40 healthy individuals by single-strand conformational polymorphism analysis for polymorphisms in the CYP2E1 coding sequence and promoter region. DNA sequencing of samples showing mobility shifts on single-strand conformational polymorphism detected polymorphisms at positions -316 (A to G), -297 (T to A), -35 (G to T), 1107 (G to C; intron 1), 4804 (G to A Val179Ile; exon 4) and 10157 (C to T; exon 8). All individuals positive for either A(-316)G, G(-35)T, G(4804)A or the previously described RsaI polymorphism at -1019 were also positive for T(-297)A, which had the highest allele frequency of the observed polymorphisms (0.20). A(-316)G, G(-35)T and G(4804)A were detected at allele frequencies of 0.022, 0.052 and 0.013, respectively. The functional significance of the upstream polymorphisms was examined by preparing constructs of positions -549 to +3 of CYP2E1 containing the observed combinations of the polymorphisms fused to luciferase reporter genes and transfecting HepG2 cells. For the G(-35)T/T(-297)A construct, a 1.8-fold increase in luciferase activity compared with the wild-type sequence (P = 0.06) and 2.5-fold compared with T(-297)A only (P = 0.025) was observed. No significant difference in activity was observed between the other constructs. The significance of the predicted Val179Ile base change from G(4804)A was determined by expression of the wild-type and mutated full length cDNAs in lymphoblastoid cells. No significant difference in kinetic constants for chlorzoxazone hydroxylation between mutant and wild-type was observed. In summary, this study demonstrated six novel CYP2E1 polymorphisms, including three upstream of the promoter, but with the possible exception of G(-35)T, none appeared to be of functional significance.

Development of a human lymphoblastoid cell line constitutively expressing human CYP1B1 cDNA: substrate specificity with model substrates and promutagens.

An AHH-1 TK+/- cell derivative was developed that stably expresses human cytochrome P4501B1 (CYP1B1) cDNA in an extrachromosomal vector which confers resistance to 1-histidinol and co-expresses NADPH cytochrome P450 oxidoreductase (OR). The CYP1B1-expressing cell line was designated h1B1/OR. Microsomes prepared from CYP1B1 cDNA expressing cells exhibit elevated levels of 7-ethoxy-resorufin deethylase (EROD), 7-ethoxy-4-trifluoromethyl-coumarin deethylase (EFCD), benzo(alpha)pyrene hydroxylase (BPH), bufuralol 1'-hydroxylase, testosterone hydroxylase activities and spectrally quantifiable cytochrome P450. CYP1B1-containing microsomes did not contain detectable coumarin 7-hydroxylase, p-nitrophenol hydroxylase, lauric acid hydroxylase, (S)-mephenytoin 4'-hydroxylase or diclofenac 4'-hydroxylase activities. Kinetic parameters for selected substrates were compared among CYP1B1 and the two additional members of the CYP1 family, CYP1A1 and CYP1A2. For BPH and EFCD, the rank order of rates of substrate metabolism were CYP1A1 > CYP1B1 > CYP1A2. For EROD, the rank order of substrate metabolism was CYP1A1 > CYP1A2 > CYP1B1. For both EROD and EFCD the apparent K(m) values for CYP1B1 were more similar to CYP1A1 than to CYP1A2. In order to begin to characterize the promutagen activating ability of CYP1B1, the mutagenicity of selected chemicals was examined in h1B1/OR cells; there was increased sensitivity (CYP1B1-expressing relative to control cells) to the mutagenicity of benzo(a)pyrene, cyclopenta(c,d)pyrene, 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone and aflatoxin B1 (AFB). CYP1B1, expressed in this system, appears to be particularly efficient at activating AFB.

Comparison of substrate metabolism by wild type CYP2D6 protein and a variant containing methionine, not valine, at position 374.

We have analysed kinetic parameters of cDNA-derived CYP2D6 proteins derived from the original CYP2D6 cDNA isolate (Gonzalez FJ et al. Nature 1988: 331, 442-446) which contains methionine at position 374 (CYP2D6-Met) and a modified cDNA which contains valine at position 374 (CYP2D6-Val). This latter protein is predicted from the CYP2D6 genomic sequence. Several quantitative differences, but no qualitative differences in metabolism were observed. CYP2D6-Met was found to have a two-fold lower Km and a three-fold lower turnover rate for (R)(+)-bufuralol 1'-hydroxylation as compared to CYP2D6-Val. In contrast, CYP2D6-Met and CYP2D6-Val had a similar Km for debrisoquine 4-hydroxylation while CYP2D6-Val had an 18-fold higher turnover rate. CYP2D6-Val and CYP2D6-Met had similar Kms for metoprolol but CYP2D6-Val showed a three-fold higher capacity for the O-demethylation reaction compared to alpha-hydroxylation which is more similar to that seen in human liver. In the case of sparteine, CYP2D6-Val and CYP2D6-Met showed similar capacities for formation of the 2-dehydrosparteine metabolite but the Km value for CYP2D6-Met was six-fold higher than that for CYP2D6-Val. Kinetic differences between CYP2D6-Met and CYP2D6-Val were further probed by examination of apparent Ki for inhibition of (R,S)(+/-)-bufuralol 1'-hydroxylation. Similar Ki values (within a factor of three) were observed for perhexiline and (R,S)-propranolol while quinidine and dextromethorphan were 8.5-fold and 21-fold more effective inhibitors of CYP2D6-Val relative to CYP2D6-Met. An allele specific polymerase chain reaction assay was developed for the CYP2D6-Met allele. The CYP2D6-Met allele was not found among 83 individuals. In the aggregate, these data indicated that the CYP2D6-Val allele is the more common allele in human populations. The quantitative kinetic differences between these two enzymes appears most pronounced for substrates/inhibitors with rigid structures. CYP2D6-Val more often has a substantially lower Km and/or a substantially higher capacity to metabolize those substrates.

A metabolically competent human cell line expressing five cDNAs encoding procarcinogen-activating enzymes: application to mutagenicity testing.

A human B-lymphoblastoid cell line, designated MCL-5, constitutively expressing human cytochrome P-450 CYP1A1 and also expressing five transfected human cDNAs encoding drug-metabolizing enzymes, has been developed. cDNAs encoding CYP1A2, CYP2A6, and microsomal epoxide hydrolase (mEH) were introduced by using a vector conferring hygromycin B resistance, and cDNAs encoding CYP2E1 and CYP3A4 were introduced by using a vector conferring resistance to 1-histidinol. MCL-5 cells stably expressed all five cDNAs and the native CYP1A1 as determined by measurement of form-specific enzyme activity levels. The mutagenicity of seven model procarcinogens to MCL-5 cells was examined at the hypoxanthine guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (hprt) and thymidine kinase (tk) loci. Exposure to benzo[a]pyrene (BP), 3-methylcholanthrene (3MC), N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA), aflatoxin B1, (AFB1), 2-(acetylamino)fluorene (AAF), or benzidine (BZD) induced a statistically significant increase in mutant frequency. Linear interpolation of the concentration of procarcinogen necessary to produce a doubling of the mutant fraction at the hprt locus in MCL-5 cells and the parent AHH-1 cell line revealed that, for each of the chemicals examined, except BZD, MCL-5 cells were significantly more sensitive than the parent AHH-1 cells. The increase in sensitivity to mutagenicity ranged from 3-fold for AAF to greater than 40,000-fold for NDMA. MCL-5 cells have great potential as a screening system for the analysis of human procarcinogen/promutagen activation.

The development of a human cell line stably expressing human CYP3A4: role in the metabolic activation of aflatoxin B1 and comparison to CYP1A2 and CYP2A3.

We have developed a human lymphoblastoid cell line, designated 3A4/Hol, which stably expresses human CYP3A4 cDNA. This cell line exhibited testosterone 6 beta-hydroxylase activity, produced immunologically detectable CYP3A4 protein and was more sensitive to the cytotoxicity and mutagenicity of the carcinogenic mycotoxin aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) than was the parent cell line. The concentration-response for AFB1 cytotoxicity and mutagenicity in 3A4/Hol cells was compared to the responses of isogenic cell lines expressing comparable levels of human CYP1A2 (1A2/Hyg cells) and human CYP2A3 (2A3/Hyg cells). 1A2/Hyg cells were 3- to 6-fold more sensitive than 3A4/Hol cells to AFB1-induced mutation. 3A4/Hol cells were 10- to 15-fold more sensitive to AFB1-induced mutation than 2A3/Hyg cells. The differences in mutagenicity were supported by the relative binding of [3H]AFB1 to cellular DNA.

Human cytochrome P450IIA3: cDNA sequence, role of the enzyme in the metabolic activation of promutagens, comparison to nitrosamine activation by human cytochrome P450IIE1.

We report that, in a human cell line, human cytochrome P450IIA3 is capable of metabolizing aflatoxin B1, benzo[a]-pyrene, N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) and N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA) to cytotoxic and mutagenic species. Cytochrome P450IIA3-mediated activation of NDMA and NDEA was compared with human cytochrome P450IIE1-mediated activation in the same cell system. P450IIE1 was more effective at activating NDMA than P450IIA3, while P450IIA3 was more effective at activating NDEA than P450IIE1. Whole cells and microsomal fractions obtained from control cells and from cells expressing the P450IIA3 cDNA were characterized for expression of P450IIA3. Microsomal coumarin 7-hydroxylase activity was some 40 times greater in the transfected cells than in the control cells and was catalyzed by a protein that was immunochemically related to the rat liver cytochrome P450IIA gene family. Immunoblot analysis demonstrated that this protein was readily detectable in transfected cells but barely detectable in control cells. We also report the DNA and deduced amino acid sequence of the P450IIA3 cDNA isolate used in this study. Our isolate encodes a protein 489 amino acids that is five amino acids shorter at the N terminus but otherwise identical to a previously reported human P450IIA3 cDNA sequence.

Stable expression of human cytochrome P450IA2 cDNA in a human lymphoblastoid cell line: role of the enzyme in the metabolic activation of aflatoxin B1.

A human lymphoblastoid cell line stably expressing a human cytochrome P450IA2 cDNA was developed. This recombinant cell line displayed P450IA2 protein and estradiol 2-hydroxylase activity, neither of which was detected in the parental cell line. The recombinant cell line was also approximately 1000-fold more sensitive to the cytotoxicity and mutagenicity of the carcinogenic mycotoxin aflatoxin B1 than was the parent cell line. The increase in mutagenicity was supported by a corresponding increase in the level of aflatoxin B1 binding to DNA in cells expressing P450IA2 relative to control cells.