Hexobarbital-binding, hydroxylation and hexobarbital-dependent hydrogen peroxide production in hepatic microsomes of guinea pig, rat and rabbit.

Cytochrome P-450 dependent oxygenase (3'-hydroxy-hexobarbital) and oxidase activities (hydrogen peroxide) have been measured in hepatic microsomes from guinea pigs, rats and rabbits. A sensitive gas-chromatographic assay was developed to measure the hydroxylated product 3'-hydroxy-hexobarbital. The kinetics of its formation were determined and correlated to hexobarbital type I binding and compared with oxidase activity: in the rat, Vmax for 3'-hydroxyhexobarbital formation was 5.1 and 2.6 nmoles/mg/min, resp. This was increased by phenobarbital treated rabbits, Vmax was 15.0 nmoles/mg/min for hydroxylation and 40.8 for H2O2 formation. Spectral affinity constants (Ks) in control animals were 0.12 mM (rats) and 0.14 mM (rabbits). Phenobarbital treatment decreased these affinity constants, which were similar for each activity measured. In guinea pigs, however, hydroxylation of exobarbital was low (3.1 nmoles/mg/min) and hexobarbital-dependent formation of H2O2 was higher than hydroxylation (Vmax: 7.0 nmoles/mg/min). Phenobarbital treatment led here to two affinity constnts for each activity measured, which however, were alike. The existence of low in addition to high affinity constants observed here might explain the difficulties seen hitherto in correlating hexobarbital binding and metabolism in this species. Total oxidase activity was higher than oxygenase activity in all species tested. It is suggested that oxygenase activity of cytochrome P-450 is not limited by binding but by a competition with oxidase activity for a common intermediary species. This might be peroxy-P-450 (substrate-Fe3+O2(2-), rendering either substrate-Fe3+ O for hydroxylation reaction, or oxidized cytochrome P-450-substrate and hydrogen peroxide as product of oxidase function.