The cytochrome P-450 active site. Regiospecificity of prosthetic heme alkylation by olefins and acetylenes.

Hepatic microsomal cytochrome P-450 from phenobarbital-pretreated rats is inactivated during the metabolism of linear olefins (ethylene, propene, and octene) and acetylenes (acetylene, propyne, and octyne). As expected from previous work, the inactivation is due to N-alkylation of the prosthetic heme group by the substrate. The N-alkyl group in each adduct is formally obtained by addition of a porphyrin nitrogen to the terminal carbon and of an oxygen atom (as a hydroxyl function) to the internal carbon of the pi-bond. The oxygen is shown here by 18O studies to be catalytically introduced by the enzyme. The olefins exclusively alkylate the nitrogen of pyrrole ring D, but the acetylenes alkylate that of pyrrole ring A. Acetylene is an exception in that it reacts with more than one nitrogen. Circular dichroism studies of the ethylene adduct and of the ring D regioisomer of N-ethylprotoporphyrin IX obtained by alkylation of the prosthetic heme of hemoglobin have been used to determine which face of cytochrome P-450 heme is alkylated by the unsaturated substrates. These results implicate an active site that is sterically encumbered in the region over pyrrole ring B and has a lipophilic binding site that accommodates chains of at least six carbon atoms over pyrrole ring C.