Metabolism carcinogens and drugs by the system of monooxygenases

Ellipticine, an alkaloid isolated from Apocynaceae plants, exhibits significant antitumor and HIV activities. Ellipticine is a pro-drug, whose pharmacological and genotoxic effects depend on activation by cytochromes P450 (CYP) and peroxidases (Px) to a reactive species generating DNA adducts. To elucidate contribution of CYPs (and which of them) and Px to ellipticine activation, we used rat and mouse models, mice with deleted gene of NADPH:CYP reductase in the liver, thus absenting this enzyme in the liver (HRNTM ) and a control mouse line (WT), rats treated with ellipticine, and microsomal systems isolated from the liver of mouse lines and from the liver, kidney and lung of rats. The purified enzymes, CYP1A1 and 3A4, reconstituted with NADPH:CYP reductase were also used. The effect of cytochrome b5, a facultative component of the mixed function monooxygenase system, on ellipticine oxidation by CYP1A1 and 3A4 was also investigated. Carcinogenic benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), known to covalently bind to DNA after its activation with CYPs, was investigated for its potential to generate DNA adducts and to induce CYP and NADPH:CYP reductase enzymes in mouse livers. We investigated an influence of each of components of the mixed function oxidases (MFO) system on metabolism of BaP. CYP1A1 is widely accepted to be the..