alpha-naphthyl-thiourea and octylamine

A mouse liver cDNA clone, MFMO1, coding for a flavin-containing monooxygenase (FMO) was isolated. This cDNA clone encoded a protein of 532 amino acids. Based upon its predicted amino acid sequence, this clone was assumed to belong to the FMO1 subfamily. The deduced amino acid sequence showed 94, 84, 83, and 83% identity with FMO1s of rats, pigs, rabbits and humans, respectively, while it showed only 50-59% identity with human FMO3 and FMO4, rabbit FMO2, FMO3, FMO4 and FMO5, and guinea-pig FMO2. RNA blot analysis showed that the mouse FMO1 was also expressed in the lung and kidney and to lesser extents in the heart, spleen, testis and brain. Mouse FMO1 expressed in yeast showed activities of thiobenzamide S-oxidation, and NADPH oxidation associated with the S- or N-oxidation of chlorpromazine, N,N-dimethylaniline, N,N-dimethyl-hydrazine, imipramine, nicotine, thioacetamide, thiourea and trimethylamine. Moreover, 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline (TIQ), a substance known to induce a parkinsonism-like syndrome in monkeys, was also metabolized by the mouse FMO1. The K(m) values for chlorpromazine, imipramine and TIQ were determined to be 2,4, 16.0, 435 mM, respectively. This is the first report to show that an expressed FMO can metabolize a neurotoxin, TIQ.

Topics: Amines; Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Base Sequence; Cloning, Molecular; DNA, Complementary; Genetic Vectors; Guinea Pigs; Humans; Isoquinolines; Kinetics; Liver; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Microsomes; Microsomes, Liver; Molecular Sequence Data; Neurotoxins; Oxygenases; Rabbits; Rats; RNA; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Swine; Tetrahydroisoquinolines; Thiourea

A rat liver cDNA clone, RFMO1, coding for a flavin-containing monooxygenase (FMO) was isolated. This cDNA clone encoded a protein of 532 amino acids. The deduced amino acid sequence was 84, 82 and 82% identical to those of the pig, human (Form 1) and rabbit (Form 1) liver FMOs, while it was only 52, 50, 54, 56 and 54% identical to the human (Form II), human (Form 2) and rabbit liver FMOs (Form 2) and rabbit and guinea pig lung FMOs. RNA blot analysis showed that rat liver FMO was also expressed in lung and kidney and to a lesser extent in the heart and brain. An expression plasmid, pAMFMO, was constructed and the FMO protein expressed in yeast (AH22). This FMO protein catalyzed thiobenzamide S-oxidation, and NADPH oxidation associated with the S- or N-oxidation of thiourea, N,N-dimethylaniline, trimethylamine, imipramine, chlorpromazine, N,N-dimethylhydrazine, thioacetamide as substrates. The S-oxidation activities of thiobenzamide and thiourea were enhanced by n-octylamine, a known enhancer of FMO, and inhibited by alpha-naphthylthiourea, a known inhibitor of FMO. This is the first report in which FMO with catalytic activities was stably expressed.

Topics: Amines; Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Cloning, Molecular; Liver; Male; Molecular Sequence Data; Oxygenases; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Recombinant Proteins; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Thiourea