Partial characterization of hepatic micorsomes from tupaia glis

The dithionite difference spectrum of Tupaia microsomal cytochrome P-450-CO complex has an absorbance maximum at 449 nm, rather than at 450 nm as found for rat, rabbit, mouse, guinea pig, and human microsomes. N-octylamine difference spectroscopy showed the ratio of high- and low-spin forms of cytochrome P-450 to be different from that of the rat, indicating that the 449 nm absorption maximum might be due to a high concentration of the high-spin form, cytochrome P-448. The Tupaia microsomes demonstrated greater aryl hydrocarbon activity than microsomes prepared from male rats. These preliminary results suggest that Tupaia microsomes contain a modified terminal oxygenase which is responsible for the observed rapid metabolism of benzo[alpha]pyrene.