Omeprazole alleviates benzo[a]pyrene cytotoxicity by inhibition of CYP1A1 activity in human and mouse hepatoma cells

Omeprazole is a drug used for treating gastro-oesophageal reflux disease and duodenal ulcers. Omeprazole induces a xenobiotic-metabolizing enzyme, cytochrome P450 1A1 (CYP1A1), as its ligand by aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) activation without binding. CYP1A1-inducible chemicals, such as benzo[a]pyrene and 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, are known to have adverse effects (i.e. carcinogenesis, mutagenesis and malformation). Unlike these typical AhR activators, omeprazole has shown no experimental evidence of carcinogenic activity. The possibility, however, remains that omeprazole may aggravate the effect of environmental carcinogens through CYP1A1 induction. We exposed benzo[a]pyrene and omeprazole simultaneously to human and mouse hepatoma cells to investigate the synergistic effect of these chemicals. Contrary to our prediction, cytotoxicity of benzo[a]pyrene was inhibited by the omeprazole exposure in a dose-dependent manner. Omeprazole did not alter CYP1A1 mRNA and protein levels induced by benzo[a]pyrene. The 7-ethoxy-resorufin-O-deethylase assay revealed that omeprazole inhibited CYP1A1 enzyme activity. Kinetic analysis also demonstrated that it is a competitive inhibitor for CYP1A1. The K(m) value of omeprazole against CYP1A1 activity was 50.1 microM. We conclude that the effects of omeprazole on CYP1A1 involve not only induction through AhR activation but also inhibition of its enzyme activity, and that the protective effect of omeprazole against benzo[a]pyrene cytotoxicity depends on the latter.