CYP3A4 gene polymorphisms influence testosterone 6beta-hydroxylation.

Three non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the CYP3A4 gene were found in 34 cell lines derived from Japanese individuals. These three SNPs (T185S, L293P, and T363M)(1) have been previously reported, but little is known about the effect that these polymorphisms, especially T185S, have on catalytic activity. We measured testosterone hydroxylation in wild-type CYP3A4 and these three variants using a mammalian expression system. Testosterone 6beta-, 2beta-, and 15beta-hydroxylations by the variant CYP3A4 forms T363M (<40%) and T185S (<60%) were reduced as compared with the wild-type in transient expression assays. L293P was similar to the wild-type in testosterone 6beta- and 2beta-hydroxylase activities. Western blot analysis confirmed lower amounts of CYP3A4 protein in the T363M and T185S variants than in the wild-type. Interestingly, Northern blot analysis showed no significant difference among mRNA levels between the wild-type and variants. These results suggest that the T363M and T185S substitutions in CYP3A4 affect either protein expression or stability. These established cell lines provided useful CYP3A4 SNP information in the Japanese.