Novel SNPs in cytochrome P450 oxidoreductase.

Cytochrome P450 oxidoreductase (POR) is the single flavoprotein which donates electrons to the microsomal cytochrome P450 enzymes for oxidation of their substrates. In this study, we sequenced all 15 exons and the surrounding intronic sequences of POR in 100 human liver samples to identify novel and confirm known genetic polymorphisms in POR. Thirty-four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified including 9 in the coding exons (5 synonymous and 4 nonsynonymous), 20 in the intronic regions, and 5 in the 3'-UTR. Of these, 9 were novel SNPs, including three nonsynonymous SNPs, SNH313003 (817733G>C; K49N), SNH313020 (848661C>A; L420M), and SNH313029 (849577T>C; L577P) with minor allele frequencies of 0.005, 0.045, and 0.020, respectively. We also confirmed a previously reported non-synonymous SNP rs1057868 (A503V) as well as five synonymous SNPs (G5G, T29T, P129P, S485S, and S572S) all with allele frequencies similar to those previously reported. Structurally, these polymorphisms occur in different regions: SNH313003 (K49N) in the amino-terminal tail, SNH313020 (L420M) in the connecting domain, SNH313029 (L577P) in the NADPH-binding domain, and rs1057868 (A503V) in the FAD binding domain.