Abstract

RODRIGUEZ GONZALEZ, Julio César  and  RODEIRO GUERRA, Idania. Cytochrome P450 system and xenobiotic metabolism. Rev Cubana Farm [online]. 2014, vol.48, n.3, pp. 495-507. ISSN 1561-2988.

The organisms are constantly exposed to a wide array of xenobiotics. Cytochrome P450 enzymes are involved in the phase I of xenobiotic metabolism, including pharmaceuticals, and in endogenous biosynthetic functions through oxidation, reduction reactions and hydrolysis. It is estimated that cytochrome P450 can metabolize up to two-thirds of drugs present in humans and that the bulk of these reactions occur in the liver. These enzymes are found in all biological domains. More than 18 000 cytochrome P450 genes are currently known and arranged into families and subfamilies on the basis of amino acid sequence identity percentage, and this number increases each year as new genome sequences are reported. They are a superfamily of monooxidase hemoproteins in the oxidase system with mixed functions and found on the membranes of the smooth endoplasmic reticulum and in the inner mitochondrial membrane. The diversity of reactions that catalyzes and its extensive substrate specificity turn it into one of the most diverse and versatile catalysts ever known and plays a critical role in biochemistry, pharmacology and toxicology. A keyword search was performed in Pubmed and Medscape databases in the last ten years. Websites related to cytochrome P450 research as databases were also consulted. This updated review covered general aspects of cytochrome P450, a brief history of the research on this enzyme and its standard nomenclature system, and also described its multiplicity, its distribution in body organs and its sub-cellular location, structure and function.

Keywords : cytochrome P450; xenobiotics; drug metabolism.

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