Drug oxidation activities of horseradish peroxidase, myoglobin and cytochrome P-450cam reconstituted with synthetic hemes

Drug oxidations by horseradish peroxidase (HRP), myoglobin (Mb) and cytochrome P-450cam (P-450cam) reconstituted with synthetic hemes were studied in comparison with a form of cytochrome P-450 purified from liver microsomes of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)-treated rats. N,N-Dimethylaniline (DMA) and 7-isopropoxycoumarin were hardly dealkylated by the heme-substituted proteins in the presence of NADPH-cytochrome c (P-450) reductase and NADPH, while substantial activity of this kind was observed in the presence of hydrogen peroxide or cumene hydroperoxide as oxygen donors. Specific activity varied, depending on the substrates, oxygen donors, heme derivatives and apoproteins employed. Very high levels of activity were observed in hydrogen peroxide-dependent DMA N-demethylation with HRP substituted with certain hemes. The highest level of activity was about two hundred times as high as that of rat liver cytochrome P-450. The relationship between such activity and the chemical structure of heme derivatives was discussed.