Received for publication March 24, 2006.
Revised May 11, 2006.
Accepted for publication May 12, 2006.

Kinetic Isotope Effects Implicate a Single Oxidant for Cytochrome P450-Mediated O-Dealkylation, N-Oxygenation, and Aromatic Hydroxylation of 6-Methoxyquinoline

Abstract

One major point of controversy in the area of cytochrome P450 mediated oxidation reactions is the nature of the active-oxygen species. A number of hypotheses have been advanced which implicate a second oxidant besides the iron-oxo species designated as compound I (Cpd 1). This oxygen is thought to be either an iron-hydroperoxy species (Cpd 0), or a second spin-state of Cpd 1. Very little information is available on what fraction of P450 oxidations are mediated by the two different oxidants. Herein, we report results on three cytochrome P450-mediated reactions; O-dealkylation, N-oxygenation, and aromatic hydroxylation, which occur by three distinct chemical mechanisms. We have employed kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) to test for branching from O-demethylation to N-oxygenation and aromatic hydroxylation, using 6-methoxyquinoline and 2H3-6-methoxyquinoline as substrates for P4501A2. Identical large inverse isotope effects on Vmax/Km are obtained for the formation of both the N-oxide and the phenol. This indicates that all three reactions occur through the same enzyme-substrate complex (ES), and thus through a single iron-oxygen species. The nature of the iron-oxygen species is less certain, but is more likely to be iron-oxo Cpd 1 given the energetics of these reactions.

Key words: cytochrome P450 catalyzed oxidations, cytochrome P450 function, enzyme kinetics, enzyme mechanism, P450 mechanism, stable isotopes