Inhibition of Drug-Metabolizing Enzymes in Mouse Liver by a Water Soluble Fullerene C60

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Abstract
The microsomal cytochrome P450-dependent monooxygenase system is responsible for the metabolism a variety of xenobiotics including drugs and carcinogens. Fullerenol-1 is a water soluble polyhydroxylated C60 derivative synthesized by a sequence of reactions involving the electrophilic attack of nitronium tetrafluoroborate on fullerenes in the presence of organocarboxylic acids. The present study has evaluated the acute toxicity of fullerenol-1 and determined the effects of the C60 compound on the P450-dependent drug-metabolzing activities. Pretreatments with 0.5 and 1.0g/kg fullerenol-1 decreased P450 and cytochrome b5 contents, and NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase, as well as drug metabolizing activities toward test substrates benzo[a]pyrene, 7-ethoxycoumarin, aniline, and erythromycin in liver microsomes. Pretreatments with 0.01 and 0.1 g/kg fullerenol-1 had no effect on these monooxygenases. Immunoblotting anlysis of the microsomal proteins revealed that pretreatments with fullerenol-1 did not alter the protein levels of P450s 1A, 2E and 3A. Additions of fullerenol-1 to mouse liver microsomes suppressed monooxygenases activities toward benzo[a]pyrene, 7-ethoxycoumarin, aniline, and erythromycin with IC50 values of 42, 94, 102 and 349 μM, respectively. These results demonstrate that fullerenol-1 can decrease the activities of microsomal drug-metabolizing enzymes in vivo and in vitro. Proper adjustment of the functionalized fullerene compound may facilitate the biomedical application of the new material.