Comparison of mouse and human cytochrome P450 mediated-drug metabolising activities in hepatic and extrahepatic microsomes

Despite the importance of mice as a preclinical species in drug testing, their hepatic and extrahepatic drug-metabolising characteristics are poorly understood. Here, we compared the P450-dependent drug oxidation activity in tissue microsomes and distribution patterns of P450 protein/mRNA between humans and mice. The activities of midazolam 1 '-/4-hydroxylation in the liver and intestine and chlorzoxazone 6-hydroxylation in the liver were similar in humans and mice. The activities of coumarin 7-hydroxylation, flurbiprofen 4 '-hydroxylation, and S-mephenytoin 4 '-hydroxylation in the liver were higher in humans than in mice. The activities of 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylation in the liver, 7-pentoxyresorufin O-depentylation in the lung/liver/intestine, bufuralol 1 '-hydroxylation in the liver/intestine, propafenone 4 '-hydroxylation in liver/intestine, and diazepam N-demethylation in the liver/intestine were higher in mice than in humans. CYP1A2/2E1 mRNAs were mainly expressed in the livers of humans and mice. Cyp2b9/2b10 mRNAs were abundant in the mouse lung/liver/intestine, but CYP2B6 was mainly expressed in the human liver. CYP2C/2D/3A mRNAs were expressed in the liver and intestine, with the respective proteins detected in tissue microsomes of both humans and mice. These information on P450-dependent drug-metabolising characteristics in hepatic and extrahepatic tissues is useful to understand the similarities and differences between humans and mice in drug metabolism.