CYP1B1
Encyclopedia
Cytochrome P450 1B1 is an enzyme
Enzyme
Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process, called substrates, are converted into different molecules, called products. Almost all chemical reactions in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at rates...

 that in humans is encoded by the CYP1B1 gene
Gene
A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...

.

Function

CYP1B1 belongs to the cytochrome P450 superfamily of enzymes. The cytochrome P450 proteins are monooxygenases which catalyze many reactions involved in drug metabolism and synthesis of cholesterol, steroids and other lipids. The enzyme encoded by this gene localizes to the endoplasmic reticulum and metabolizes procarcinogens such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and 17beta-estradiol.

Despite over 20 years of research of CYP1A1
CYP1A1
Cytochrome P450, family 1, subfamily A, polypeptide 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CYP1A1 gene. The protein is a member of the cytochrome P450 superfamily of enzymes.-Function:...

 and CYP1A2
CYP1A2
Cytochrome P450 1A2 , a member of the cytochrome P450 mixed-function oxidase system, is involved in the metabolism of xenobiotics in the body...

, CYP1B1 was not identified and sequenced until 1994. Nucleic and amino acid analysis showed approximately 40% identity with CYP1A1. Despite this similarity, these two enzymes have very different catalytic efficiencies and metabolites when incubated with common substrates, such as retinoic acid
Retinoic acid
Retinoic acid is a metabolite of vitamin A that mediates the functions of vitamin A required for growth and development. Retinoic acid is required in chordate animals which includes all higher animals from fishes to humans...

 and arachidonic acid
Arachidonic acid
Arachidonic acid is a polyunsaturated omega-6 fatty acid 20:4.It is the counterpart to the saturated arachidic acid found in peanut oil, Arachidonic acid (AA, sometimes ARA) is a polyunsaturated omega-6 fatty acid 20:4(ω-6).It is the counterpart to the saturated arachidic acid found in peanut oil,...

. Recently CYP1B1 has been shown to be physiologically important in fetal development, since mutations in CYP1B1 are linked with a form of primary congenital glaucoma.

CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 are regulated by the Aryl hydrocarbon receptor
Aryl hydrocarbon receptor
The Aryl hydrocarbon receptor is a member of the family of basic-helix-loop-helix transcription factors. AhR is a cytosolic transcription factor that is normally inactive, bound to several co-chaperones...

, a ligand activated transcription factor. They are part of the Phase I reactions in drug metabolism
Drug metabolism
Drug metabolism is the biochemical modification of pharmaceutical substances by living organisms, usually through specialized enzymatic systems. This is a form of xenobiotic metabolism. Drug metabolism often converts lipophilic chemical compounds into more readily excreted polar products...

.

Clinical significance

Mutations in this gene have been associated with primary congenital glaucoma; therefore it is thought that the enzyme also metabolizes a signaling molecule involved in eye development, possibly a steroid.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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