Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Life Sciences, The University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK.
Trends Biochem Sci. 2013 Mar;38(3):140-50. doi: 10.1016/j.tibs.2012.11.006. Epub 2013 Jan 26.
The cytochromes P450 (P450s) are probably nature's most versatile enzymes in terms of both their vast substrate range and the diverse types of molecular transformations performed across the P450 enzyme superfamily. The P450s exquisitely perform highly specific oxidative chemistry, utilizing a sophisticated catalytic reaction mechanism. Recent studies have provided the first definitive characterization of the transient reaction cycle intermediate (compound I) responsible for the majority of P450 oxidative reactions. This major advance comes at a time when P450 engineering has facilitated the elucidation of several mammalian P450 structures and generated P450 variants with novel substrate specificity and reactivity. This review describes recent advances in P450 research and the ramifications for biotechnological and biomedical exploitation of these enzymes.
细胞色素 P450（P450s）在其广泛的底物范围和 P450 酶超家族中执行的各种类型的分子转化方面，可能是自然界中用途最广泛的酶。P450 极其精确地执行高度特异性的氧化化学，利用复杂的催化反应机制。最近的研究首次明确了负责大多数 P450 氧化反应的瞬态反应循环中间体（化合物 I）的特征。这一重大进展恰逢 P450 工程学促成了几种哺乳动物 P450 结构的阐明，并产生了具有新颖底物特异性和反应性的 P450 变体之时。本综述描述了 P450 研究的最新进展及其对这些酶的生物技术和生物医学利用的影响。
