Mammalian flavin-containing monooxygenases: structure/function, genetic polymorphisms and role in drug metabolism.

ABSTRACT: Flavin-containing monooxygenase (FMO) oxygenates drugs and xenobiotics containing a "soft-nucleophile", usually nitrogen or sulfur. FMO, like cytochrome P450 (CYP), is a monooxygenase, utilizing the reducing equivalents of NADPH to reduce 1 atom of molecular oxygen to water, while the other atom is used to oxidize the substrate. FMO and CYP also exhibit similar tissue and cellular location, molecular weight, substrate specificity, and exist as multiple enzymes under developmental control. The human FMO functional gene family is much smaller (5 families each with a single member) than CYP. FMO does not require a reductase to transfer electrons from NADPH and the catalytic cycle of the 2 monooxygenases is strikingly different. Another distinction is the lack of induction of FMOs by xenobioti

SUBMITTER: Krueger SK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1828602 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature