Publications by authors named "Leslie D Nagy"

Cytochrome P450 (P450, CYP) 4A11 is a human fatty acid ω-hydroxylase that catalyzes the oxidation of arachidonic acid to the eicosanoid 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (20-HETE), which plays important roles in regulating blood pressure regulation. Variants of P450 4A11 have been associated with high blood pressure and resistance to anti-hypertensive drugs, and 20-HETE has both pro- and antihypertensive properties relating to increased vasoconstriction and natriuresis, respectively. These physiological activities are likely influenced by the redox environment, but the mechanisms are unclear.

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In humans, a considerable fraction of the retinoid pool in skin is derived from vitamin A2 (all-trans 3,4-dehydroretinal). Vitamin A2 may be locally generated by keratinocytes, which can convert vitamin A1 (all-trans retinol) into vitamin A2 in cell culture. We report that human cytochrome P450 (hP450) 27C1, a previously 'orphan' enzyme, can catalyze this reaction.

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Some vertebrate species have evolved means of extending their visual sensitivity beyond the range of human vision. One mechanism of enhancing sensitivity to long-wavelength light is to replace the 11-cis retinal chromophore in photopigments with 11-cis 3,4-didehydroretinal. Despite over a century of research on this topic, the enzymatic basis of this perceptual switch remains unknown.

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Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) is a well-known and widely-used analgesic. It is rapidly deacetylated to salicylic acid, which forms two hippuric acids-salicyluric acid and gentisuric acid-and two glucuronides. The oxidation of aspirin and salicylic acid has been reported with human liver microsomes, but data on individual cytochromes P450 involved in oxidation is lacking.

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The carcinogenesis of urethane (ethyl carbamate), a byproduct of fermentation that is consistently found in various food products, was investigated with a combination of kinetic experiments and quantum chemical calculations. The main objective of the study was to find ΔG(⧧), the activation free energy for the rate-limiting step of the SN2 reaction among the ultimate carcinogen of urethane, vinyl carbamate epoxide (VCE), and different nucleobases of the DNA. In the experimental part, the second-order reaction rate constants for the formation of the main 7-(2-oxoethyl)guanine adduct in aqueous solutions of deoxyguanosine and in DNA were determined.

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Cytochrome P450 (P450) 17A enzymes play a critical role in the oxidation of the steroids progesterone (Prog) and pregnenolone (Preg) to glucocorticoids and androgens. In mammals, a single enzyme, P450 17A1, catalyzes both 17α-hydroxylation and a subsequent 17α,20-lyase reaction with both Prog and Preg. Teleost fish contain two 17A P450s; zebrafish P450 17A1 catalyzes both 17α-hydroxylation and lyase reactions with Prog and Preg, and P450 17A2 is more efficient in pregnenolone 17α-hydroxylation but does not catalyze the lyase reaction, even in the presence of cytochrome b5.

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Cytochrome P450 (P450) 4A11 is the only functionally active subfamily 4A P450 in humans. P450 4A11 catalyzes mainly ω-hydroxylation of fatty acids in liver and kidney; this process is not a major degradative pathway, but at least one product, 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid, has important signaling properties. We studied catalysis by P450 4A11 and the issue of rate-limiting steps using lauric acid ω-hydroxylation, a prototypic substrate for this enzyme.

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In this study, we found that the full-length CYP2C8 (WT CYP2C8) and N-terminal truncated splice variant 3 (∼ 44-kDa mass) are localized in mitochondria in addition to the endoplasmic reticulum. Analysis of human livers showed that the mitochondrial levels of these two forms varied markedly. Molecular modeling based on the x-ray crystal structure coordinates of CYP2D6 and CYP2C8 showed that despite lacking the N-terminal 102 residues variant 3 possessed nearly complete substrate binding and heme binding pockets.

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DNA damage incurred by a multitude of endogenous and exogenous factors constitutes an inevitable challenge for the replication machinery. Cells rely on various mechanisms to either remove lesions or bypass them in a more or less error-prone fashion. The latter pathway involves the Y-family polymerases that catalyze trans-lesion synthesis across sites of damaged DNA.

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1. Metoclopramide is a widely used clinical drug in a variety of medical settings with rare acute dystonic events reported. The aim of this study was to assess a previous report of inactivation of CYP2D6 by metoclopramide, to determine the contribution of various CYPs to metoclopramide metabolism, and to identify the mono-oxygenated products of metoclopramide metabolism.

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7-Ketocholesterol (7-KC) is found at an elevated level in patients with cancer and chronic liver disease. The up-regulation of an efflux pump, P-glycoprotein (P-gp) leads to drug resistance. To elucidate the effect of 7-KC on P-gp, P-gp function and expression were investigated in hepatoma cell lines Huh-7 and HepG2 and in primary hepatocyte-derived HuS-E/2 cells.

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A total of 68 chemicals including derivatives of naphthalene, phenanthrene, fluoranthene, pyrene, biphenyl, and flavone were examined for their abilities to interact with human P450s 2A13 and 2A6. Fifty-one of these 68 chemicals induced stronger Type I binding spectra (iron low- to high-spin state shift) with P450 2A13 than those seen with P450 2A6, i.e.

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Cytochrome P450 (P450) 2E1 is the major enzyme that oxidizes N-nitrosodimethylamine [N,N-dimethylnitrosamine (DMN)], a carcinogen and also a representative of some nitrosamines formed endogenously. Oxidation of DMN by rat or human P450 2E1 to HCHO showed a high apparent intrinsic kinetic deuterium isotope effect (KIE), ≥8. The KIE was not attenuated in noncompetitive intermolecular experiments with rat liver microsomes {(D)V = 12.

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Human cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) is involved in metabolism of approximately 25% of pharmaceutical drugs. Inactivation of CYP2D6 can lead to adverse drug interactions. Four inactivators of CYP2D6 have previously been identified: 5-Fluoro-2-[4-[(2-phenyl-1H-imidazol-5-yl)methyl]-1-piperazinyl]pyrimidine(SCH66712), (1-[(2-ethyl- 4-methyl-1H-imidazol-5-yl)-methyl]-4-[4-(trifluoromethyl)-2-pyridinyl]piperazine(EMTPP), paroxetine, and 3,4- methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA).

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Steroid 21-hydroxylase (cytochrome P450 21A2, CYP21A2) deficiency accounts for ∼95% of individuals with congenital adrenal hyperplasia, a common autosomal recessive metabolic disorder of adrenal steroidogenesis. The effects of amino acid mutations on CYP21A2 activity lead to impairment of the synthesis of cortisol and aldosterone and the excessive production of androgens. In order to understand the structural and molecular basis of this group of diseases, the bovine CYP21A2 crystal structure complexed with the substrate 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17OHP) was determined to 3.

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5-Fluoro-2-[4-[(2-phenyl-1H-imidazol-5-yl)methyl]-1-piperazinyl]pyrimidine (SCH 66712) is a potent mechanism-based inactivator of human cytochrome P450 2D6 that displays type I binding spectra with a K(s) of 0.39 ± 0.10 μM.

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