title: Sex- and strain-dependent hepatic microsomal ethylmorphine N-demethylation in mice: the roles of type I binding and NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase.
abstract: The roles of type I binding and NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase in ethylmorphine demethylation were investigated in two strains of mice, using sex differences in these activities as a tool. In the CPB-SE strain, females metabolize ethylmorphine faster than males. Sex differences in cytochrome P-450 content and endogenous NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase activity were too small to account for this. On the other hand, the differences in the magnitudes of type I spectra and ethylmorphine-induced enhancement of cytochrome P-450 reduction were considerable larger than those in the rates of demethylation. All parameters, except endogenous cytochrome P-450 reduction, were modified in a similar way by testosterone pretreatment: in females they were depressed to the male level, whereas in males they remained unchanged. Castration had no effect in females and enhanced the activities in males. The CPB-V strain exhibited little or no sex differences in ethylmorphine demethylation, cytochrome P-450 content and endogenous cytochrome P-450 reduction. Testosterone pretreatment had little or no influence on these activities. Type I binding and reductase stimulation, however, showed sex differences, comparable to those observed in the CPB-SE strain, which were also abolished by testosterone. A relationship between reductase stimulation and type I binding was observed, which was, apparently, independent of sex or strain. It is concluded that androgen primarily influences the amount of cytochrome P-450-substrate complex formed, but that the reduction of this complex is not rate-limiting in the demethylation of ethylmorphine.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002369:Castration; D003577:Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System / Q000378:metabolism; D003579:Cytochrome Reductases / Q000378:metabolism*; D005037:Ethylmorphine-N-Demethylase / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D008862:Microsomes, Liver / Q000201:enzymology*; D010089:Oxidoreductases, N-Demethylating / Q000378:metabolism*; D011485:Protein Binding; D012737:Sex Factors; D013045:Species Specificity; D013739:Testosterone / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D013739:Testosterone; D003577:Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System; D010089:Oxidoreductases, N-Demethylating; D005037:Ethylmorphine-N-Demethylase; D003579:Cytochrome Reductases