Further characterization and purification of the flavin-dependent S- benzyl-L-cysteine S-oxidase activities of rat liver and kidney microsomes

PJ Sausen, RJ Duescher and AA Elfarra

Department of Comparative Biosciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison 53706.

Previously, we provided evidence that cysteine conjugate S-oxidase (S- oxidase) activities of rat liver and kidney microsomes may be associated with flavin-containing monooxygenases (FMOs). In this study, the biochemical properties of these activities were further investigated. When NADPH was replaced by NADH, the S-oxidase activities were reduced significantly. Removal of the flavin moiety from microsomes significantly reduced the S-oxidase activities; however, addition of exogenous FAD or FMN restored the activities of the flavin- depleted microsomes. Solubilization of hepatic or renal microsomes with Emulgen 911, Nonidet P-40, Triton X-100, or 3-[(3- cholamidopropyl)dimethyl-ammonio]-1- propane sulfate or inclusion of the sulfhydryl-reactive agents Hg2+, N-ethylmaleimide, or iodoacetamide did not affect the S-oxidase activities, whereas solubilization of either hepatic or renal microsomes by cholate or heating of renal microsomes in the absence of NADPH significantly reduced the S-oxidase activities. In addition to male rat hepatic and renal microsomes, the S- oxidase activities were detected in lung microsomes of male rats and hepatic and renal microsomes of male mice and female rats and rabbits. The male rat kidney maintained the highest S-oxidase activity of all species and tissues examined. Whereas the aforementioned results provided further evidence for the S-oxidase activities being associated with FMOs, unambiguous evidence for this hypothesis was provided by the purification of the activities from rat liver (580-fold) and kidney (700-fold) microsomes and by the use of the isolated proteins in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, flavin content determinations, amino-terminal amino acid sequence analysis, amino acid composition analysis, and substrate kinetic studies. The findings that the S- oxidases were immunoreactive with antibodies raised against the pig liver 1A1 isozyme but not with antibodies raised against the rabbit lung 1B1 isozyme and that the liver S-oxidase amino-terminal amino acid sequence was more comparable to the amino-terminal amino acid sequences of pig and rabbit liver 1A1 isozymes than to those of rabbit lung 1B1 and liver 1D1 isozymes provide evidence that the S-oxidases are related to the known FMO 1A1 isozymes.

Volume 43, Issue 3, pp. 388-396, 03/01/1993
Copyright © 1993 by American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics