Chemicals—All reagents unless stated were purchased from
Sigma. NADPH was obtained from Melford Laboratories (Ipswich, UK). Bufuralol,
1′-hydroxybufuralol, 7-benzyloxy-4-trifluoromethylcoumarin (BFC),
7-methoxy-4-trifluoromethylcoumarin (MFC),
7-hydroxy-4-trifluoromethylcoumarin, and hydroxytolbutamide were purchased
from BD Gentest (Cowley, UK). Midazolam, 1-hydroxymidazolam, and
4-hydroxymidazolam were kind gifts from Roche Applied Science, and
1-hydroxymetoprolol and
O-demethylmetoprolol were generous gifts from
Astra Häsle (Mölndal, Sweden).
Generation of Hepatic Microsomal Cytochrome b5 Null
Mice—A targeting vector was constructed from an 18-kb DNA fragment,
produced by fusing overlapping PCR fragments generated from mouse 129/Ola
genomic DNA (supplemental Fig. 1
A), containing exons 2–5 of the
mouse cytochrome
b5 gene. A cassette, flanked by same
orientation
loxP sites and containing a selectable marker (neomycin),
driven by the herpes simplex thymidine kinase promoter, was cloned into a BclI
site in intron 1, and a third
loxP site was cloned into a KpnI site
in intron 5. The construct was checked by PCR and sequencing and transfected
into GK129/1 embryonic stem cells by electroporation; the embryonic stem cells
were subsequently cultured in 96-well plates under G418 selection.
G418-resistant clones were screened for specific homologous recombination by
Southern blot analysis, using BglII and an 800-bp PCR fragment generated using
5′-GGCACAACACCAATTATTTGTC-3′ and
5′-GACAGTCCTTAACACAAGCTC-3′ as forward and reverse primers,
respectively. Two correctly targeted embryonic stem cell clones (
Cytb+/lox5) were expanded, injected into
C57BL/6 blastocysts, and transferred into pseudopregnant mice. Male chimeric
mice were bred to C57BL/6 mice, and heterozygous offspring were screened by
Southern blot and multiplex PCR to confirm germ line transmission of the
Cyt
b +/lox5 genotype
(supplemental Fig. 1
B) using the following primer set: 1) forward
primer, 5′-CCAATGGTCTCTCCTTGGTC-3′;2)
lox/neomycin
reverse primer, 5′-CAATAGCAGCCAGTCCCTTC-3′; 3) wild-type reverse
primer, 5′-GATGGAGTTCCCCGATGAT-3′.
Mouse Breeding and
Maintenance—
Cytb5lox/+ mice were crossed to produce homozygous
Cytb5lox/lox mice and maintained by
random breeding on a 129P2 × C57BL/6 genetic background.
Cytb5lox/lox mice were crossed with a
transgenic mouse line expressing Cre recombinase under the control of the
hepatocyte-specific rat albumin promoter (Cre
ALB)
(22 (
link)) on a C57BL/6 background,
and
Cytb5lox/+::
CreALB offspring were backcrossed with
Cytb5lox/lox mice to generate
liver-specific microsomal cytochrome
b5 conditional
knock-out mice (HBN;
Cytb5lox/lox::
CreALB) and
control (wild-type,
Cytb5lox/lox)
mice. The HBN line was thereafter maintained by random intercrossing of these
two lines. The presence of the Cre
ALB transgene was determined as
previously described (23 (
link)).
All mice were maintained under standard animal house conditions, with free
access to food and water, and a 12-h light/12-h dark cycle. All animal work
was carried out on male 10-week-old mice in accordance with the Animal
Scientific Procedures Act (1986) and after local ethical review.
In Vivo Drug Treatments—HBN and wild-type mice were
administered the following drugs either concomitantly as a mixture or
individually: chlorzoxazone (5 mg/kg), metoprolol (2 mg/kg), midazolam (5
mg/kg), phenacetin (5 mg/kg), and tolbutamide (5 mg/kg), dissolved in mixture
buffer (5% ethanol, 5% DMSO, 35% polyethylene glycol 200, 40% phosphate
buffered saline, and 15% water), by intravenous injection or orally by
gavage.
Preparation of Microsomes—Microsomes were prepared from
wild-type and HBN mouse tissues, using 0.3–0.5 g of tissue, by a
modified method of Meehan
et al. (24 (
link)), using sonication instead
of mechanical homogenization
(25 (
link)). Microsomal protein
concentrations were determined using the Bio-Rad protein assay reagent. POR
activity was estimated by NADPH-dependent cytochrome
c reduction
(26 (
link)). Microsomes were stored
at –70 °C until required.
Immunoblotting—Western blot analysis was carried out as
previously described using polyclonal antisera raised against human POR
(27 (
link)); rat cytochrome
b5; rat CYP2A1, CYP2B1, CYP2C6, CYP3A1, and CYP4A1
(28 (
link)); or human full-length
CYP2A4, CYP2D6, and CYP2E1
(25 (
link),
29 (
link)). Polyclonal antiserum to
rat cytochrome
b5 reductase and a monoclonal antibody
raised against rat CYP1A1 were also
used.
3 The polyclonal
antiserum to cytochrome
b5 oxidoreductase was a kind gift
from Dr. Hao Zhu (Kansas University Medical Center, Kansas City, KS).
Immunoreactive proteins were detected using polyclonal goat anti-rabbit,
anti-mouse, or anti-sheep horseradish peroxidase immunoglobulins as secondary
antibodies (Dako, Ely, UK) and visualized using Immobilon™
chemiluminescent horseradish peroxidase substrate (Millipore, Watford, UK) and
a FUJIFILM LAS-3000 mini-imaging system (Fujifilm UK Ltd.). Densitometric
analysis was performed using Multi Gauge version 2.2 software (Fujifilm UK
Ltd.).
Generic Microsomal Incubations—Microsomal incubations were
carried out in triplicate in 50 m
m Hepes, pH 7.4, 30 m
m MgCl
2 containing mouse liver microsomes and substrate prewarmed to
37 °C before initiation of the reaction by the addition of either NADPH or
NADH to a final concentration of 0.5 or 1 m
m, respectively.
Fluorogenic Assay Incubations—Assays were performed in a
final volume of 150 μl using white 96-well plates and the following
substrate and microsome concentrations: BFC, 50 μ
m substrate, 20
μg of mouse liver microsomes; EFC, 40 μ
m substrate, 15 μg
of mouse liver microsomes; MFC, 180 μ
m of substrate, 15 μg of
mouse liver microsomes; ethoxyresorufin (ER) and benzoxyresorufin (BR), 1
μ
m substrate, 11.25 μg of mouse liver microsomes. Reactions
were measured in real time for 3 min, using the recommended excitation and
emission wavelengths for each probe using a Fluroskan Ascent FL plate reading
fluorimeter (Labsystems, UK). Turnover rates were calculated using authentic
metabolite standards (7-hydroxy-4-trifluoromethylcoumarin for BFC, EFC, and
MFC assays and resorufin for ER and BR assays).
NADH-mediated Incubations for HPLC or Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass
Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) Analysis—NADH-mediated reactions were
performed in triplicate using the following conditions: bufuralol, 300
μ
m (final concentration), 20 μg of mouse liver microsomes in
a final volume of 150 μl for 6 min; chlorzoxazone, 1 m
m (final
concentration) and 20 μg of mouse liver microsomes in a final volume of 150
μl for 15 min; midazolam, 50 μ
m (final concentration) and 25
μgof mouse liver microsomes in a final volume of 150 μl for 9 min;
metoprolol, 800 μ
m (final concentration) and 30 μg of mouse
liver microsomes in a final volume of 150 μl for 60 min; phenacetin, 200
μ
m (final concentration) and 20 μg of mouse liver microsomes
in a final volume of 100 μl for 9 min; tolbutamide, 800 μ
m (final concentration) and 30 μg of mouse liver microsomes in a final volume
of 150 μl for 60 min. Assays were stopped by the addition of either 0.5
assay volumes (for bufuralol, chlorzoxazone, and tolbutamide assays) or 1
assay volume (for midazolam and phenacetin assays) of ice-cold methanol and
incubated on ice for 10 min.
Kinetic Determinations—Assays to determine the apparent
kinetic parameters were performed in triplicate with wild-type and HBN liver
microsomes under conditions of linearity for time and protein (data not shown)
using the same buffer/NADPH conditions as described above, with the following
concentrations of substrates: chlorzoxazone, 10–1000 μ
m;
phenacetin, 1.7–150 μ
m; midazolam, 0.9–75
μ
m; metoprolol, 10–1000 μ
m; tolbutamide,
10–1000 μ
m (12 concentration points/determination).
Metabolites were detected by LC-MS/MS as described in the supplemental
materials. The data generated were analyzed by nonlinear regression using the
Michaelis-Menten equation (chlorzoxazone, phenacetin, midazolam, and
metoprolol), whereas the Hill equation (tolbutamide)
(
Equation 1) was used to
determine the kinetic parameters
Vmax,S
50, and
the Hill coefficient (
n).
In Vivo Pharmacokinetics—Whole blood (10 μl) was taken
from the tail vein at intervals after drug administration and transferred into
a tube containing heparin (10 μl, 15 IU/ml). Internal standard solution (10
μl; 500 ng of caffeine and 500 ng of resorpine) was added to each tube.
Protein precipitation was carried out by adding methanol (75 μl), followed
by 8% sulfosalicylic acid (55 μl). Samples were mixed for 1 min and
centrifuged at 13,000 rpm for 5 min, and the supernatant was analyzed by
HPLC.
The range of concentrations for the standard curves was constructed for
quantifying blood levels by spiking blank blood samples with known amounts of
chlorzoxazone, metoprolol, midazolam, phenacetin, and tolbutamide. Extraction
and protein precipitation were carried out as outlined above for the test
samples.
Analysis of in Vitro and in Vivo Data—Average rates of
metabolism were calculated for each triplicate incubation of mouse liver
microsomes from each genotype (
n = 6), and these data were then used
to calculate
p values using an unpaired
t test (available on
the World Wide Web). Pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated using
WinNonLin software, version 3.1. A simple noncompartmental model was used to
calculate area under the curve (AUC), terminal half-life, maximum plasma
concentration (C
max), and clearance. Details of assays and
separation conditions for HPLC and LC-MS/MS are given in the supplemental
materials.
Finn R.D., McLaughlin L.A., Ronseaux S., Rosewell I., Houston J.B., Henderson C.J, & Wolf C.R. (2008). Defining the in Vivo Role for Cytochrome b5 in Cytochrome P450 Function through the Conditional Hepatic Deletion of Microsomal Cytochrome b5. The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 283(46), 31385-31393.