As an initial approach toward the characterization of the phosphorylation of cumenehydroperoxide (CuOOH)-inactivated cytochrome P450 (CYP3A4, the major human liver drug-metabolizingenzyme) and its role in the degradation of the inactivated protein, we have identified one of the majorparticipating cytosolic kinase(s) as rat liver cytosolic protein kinase C (PKC) with the use of specific andgeneral kinase inhibitors. Accordingly, we employed a model phosphorylation system consisting of purifiedPKC,
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-S-[
32P]ATP, and either native or CuOOH-inactivated purified recombinant His
6-tagged CYP3A4.Lysylendoprotease (Lys)-C digestion of the phosphorylated CuOOH-inactivated CYP3A4(His)
6 followedby HPLC-peptide mapping and mass spectrometric (LC/MS/MS) analyses led to the isolation and theunambiguous identification of two PKC-phosphorylated CYP3A4 peptides: E
258SRLEDT(p)QK
266 andF
414LPERFS(p)K
421. Similar analyses of the PKC-phosphorylated native enzyme predominantly yieldedE
258SRLEDT(p)QK
266 as the phosphorylated peptide. Studies are currently in progress to determine whetherphosphorylation of any or both of these peptides is required for the Ub-dependent 26S proteasomaldegradation of CuOOH-inactivated CYP3A4.