Olive oil protects rat liver microsomes against benzo(a)pyrene-induced oxidative damages: an in vitro study.

Benzo(a)pyrene (B(a)P), a member of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon family is present ubiquitously in the environment. One of its toxic effects is induction of oxidative stress (mediated by the enzyme B(a)P hydroxylase) which leads to various diseases like cancer. Olive oil (OO) that consists of many antioxidant compounds is reported to have many beneficial properties including protection against cancer. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the effect of OO on B(a)P hydroxylase enzyme and further elucidate the antioxidant capacity of OO against B(a)P-induced toxicity. Rat liver microsomes were divided into three groups: vehicle control, B(a)P treated group, and OO + B(a)P co-incubated group. Antioxidant enzymes which were decreased and protein carbonyl content and lipid peroxidation products which were increased on exposure to B(a)P was attenuated to near normal on OO exposure. B(a)P hydroxylase enzyme was very low in OO incubated group which may be due to inhibition of the enzyme by OO or high utilization for the metabolism of B(a)P. Further, no B(a)P metabolites (3-OH B(a)P and B(a)P 7,8-dihydrodiol) were identified in HPLC during B(a)P + OO exposure. The results prove the protective role of OO against B(a)P-induced oxidative damage.

Purification and characterization of a benzo[a]pyrene hydroxylase from Pleurotus pulmonarius.

Cytochrome P450 has been implicated in the process of biotransformation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and of other organic pollutants by white-rot fungi. We have purified and reconstituted a benzo[a]pyrene hydroxylating cytochrome P450 (P450) from microsomal fractions of the white rot fungus Pleurotus pulmonarius. The microsomal P450 was recovered using a combination of n-aminooctyl agarose and hydroxyapatite chromatography and had an apparent molecular mass of 55 kDa. The purified protein exhibited moderate affinity for benzo[a]pyrene with a K(s) of 66 microM calculated from the Type I substrate binding spectra produced. Reconstitution of activity was achieved and a turnover of 0.75 nmol 3-hydroxybenzo[a]pyrene product/min/nmol P450 was observed, comparable to levels of metabolism observed by animal cytochromes P450 involved in xenobiotic detoxification.

Microsomal benzo(a)pyrene hydroxylase in Aspergillus ochraceus TS: assay and characterization of the enzyme system.

Microsomal preparations of Aspergillus ochraceus TS oxidised benzo(a)pyrene very efficiently in the presence of NADPH and 02 and exhibits a pH optimum of 8.0-8.2. The hydroxylation is also effected in presence of NaI04. Hydroxylation was inhibited by metyrapone, SKF-525A, PCMB, imidazole, carbon monoxide and flavone but not by cyanide, azide and antimycin A indicating thereby the involvement of cytochrome P-450 in this reaction. Inhibition by cytochrome C is consistent with the participation of NADPH-cytochrome C reductase in this hydroxylation. Reduced microsomes and its solubilized preparation, when treated with carbon monoxide, showed absorption maxima at 453 and 449 respectively. Different classical inducers of cytochrome P-450 induce the benzo(a)-pyrene hydroxylase activity to varying degree and as such suggests the existence of multiple forms of cytochrome P-450 in this fungus.

Placental mono-oxygenation: characteristics and partial purification of a hematin-activated human placental mono-oxygenase.

Human placental mono-oxygenase activities were markedly increased after additions of micromolar quantities of hematin to reaction vessels. The magnitude of the increases diminished with increasing (induced) levels of hematin-independent activity. The activating effect of hematin could be observed in unbroken cell preparations, in whole homogenates, and in various subcellular fractions. Highest hematin-dependent activity was measured in microsomal fractions of placental homogenates. With benzo(a)pyrene as substrate, response to the stimulatory effect of hematin in human placental preparations was not as profound as that observed in monkey or rabbit placentas but was more marked than the responses observed in placental preparations from rats or mice. Hematin-activated mono-oxygenase activity present in washed microsomal fractions of human placental homogenates could be solubilized with detergents, the most effective of which was Triton N-101. The solubilized activity also could be partially purified by polyethylene glycol fractionation. Attempts to further purify, however, resulted in loss of activity. All results were consistent with the hypothesis that the effect of hematin is mediated via reconstitution of hematin-free apocytochrome(s) P-450.

Reconstruction of aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase from rabbit intestinal mucosa microsomes.

Benzo(a)pyene hydroxylation activity was solubilized from rabbit intestinal mucosa microsomes and reconstituted with a cytochrome P-450 preparation obtained by fractionation with 6-amino-n-hexyl Sepharose 4B, hydroxylapatite and CM-Sephadex C-50, and partially purified NADPH-cytochrome c reductase. Phosphatidylserine was required for the maximal activity, while phosphatidylcholine had no stimulatory effect. The carbon monoxide difference spectrum of the cytochrome P-450 fraction showed a maximum peak at 450 nm. Although another cytochrome P-450 fraction was active for hexadecane hydroxylation, this fraction had little activity. The results indicate that more than one cytochrome P-450 exists in the intestinal mucosa microsomes.