Homology modeling and substrate binding study of human CYP2C18 and CYP2C19 enzymes

It is well established that the variable binding-site architecture and composition of the P450 metabolizing heme proteins are major modulators of substrate and product specificity. Even the three closely related human liver isozymes, CYP2C9, CYP2C18, and CYP2C19, do not share all substrates and do not always lead to the same preferred hydroxylation products. The lack of knowledge of their three-dimensional (3D) structures has hindered efforts to understand the differences in their specificities. Building on previous work for the CYP2C9 enzyme, 3D models of CYP2C18 and 2C19 have been constructed and validated by computational methods developed and tested in our laboratory. They were used to characterize explicit enzyme-substrate complexes using the isoform-specific substrates progesterone and (S)-mephenytoin for 2C19 and 2-[2,3-dichloro-4-(3-hydroxypropyloxy)benzoyl]thiophene for 2C18. The results allowed both common and unique binding-site residues to be identified in each model. The calculated preferred hydroxylation site was obtained for each substrate and was found to be consistent with experimental observation. Comparisons were made among the 2C9, 2C18, and 2C19 model binding sites to investigate the subtle differences among them. These models can be used as structure-based guides for mutagenesis studies and screening of potential pharmaceuticals or toxins.