Molecular modeling of human cytochrome P450–substrate interactions

The results of homology modeling of 10 human cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes involved in the Phase 1 metabolism of drugs and other foreign compounds are reported. The models have been constructed from the CYP102 hemoprotein domain template for which the substrate-bound crystallographic coordinates are available. Selective substrates of individual human P450s: CYP1A2, CYP2A6, CYP2B6, CYP2C8, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, CYP2E1, CYP3A4, and CYP4A11 are all shown to fit within the corresponding enzymes' active sites in such a manner that is consistent with reported experimental data for both known pathways of substrate metabolism and from the results of site-directed mutagenesis, either in those particular human P450 enzymes concerned or for ones within the same subfamily. The self-consistency of these homology models indicates that they may have potential utility for the pre-screening of novel drug structures.