Kinetics of CO binding to cytochromes P450 in the endoplasmic reticulum

The kinetics of CO binding to cytochromes P450 in rat liver microsomes were examined using the flash photolysis technique. Modulation of the kinetics by P450 form-specific effectors such as anti-P450 monoclonal antibodies and substrates was used to elucidate the kinetic behavior of individual P450s within the endoplasmic reticulum. The problem of attributing a kinetic parameter to a single P450 in the presence of multiple microsomal P450s was overcome with a difference method that employs the difference of the kinetic profiles obtained in the presence and absence of a P450 effector. Applying this approach to study the conformation/dynamics of P450 2B1 in microsomes from phenobarbital-treated rats revealed that the substrate benzphetamine enhances while testosterone inhibits the rate of CO binding to this P450. Similar experiments with P450 1A1 in microsomes from 3-methylcholanthrene-treated rats showed that the substrate benzo[a]pyrene accelerates CO binding. These results show that the access channel between solvent and heme in the P450 interior can be altered in a substrate- and P450-dependent manner to either hinder or facilitate CO diffusion to the heme iron. These results also demonstrate that analytical difference methods may be employed to characterize the conformation of individual P450s in their native membrane environment in the endoplasmic reticulum.