Heterologous expression of mammalian cytochrome P450 as active forms in Escherichia coli - Review

Cytochrome P450 (P450) is involved in various biological pathways that are essential for the maintenance of life. Heterologous expression in Escherich ia coli has become a powerful tool for obtaining large amounts of P450 for detailed enzymatic characterization and structural analyses. Although many P450 species have been expressed in E. coli during the last decade, overall the expression of P450 has been poorly investigated in a systematic manner . Therefore, some forms of P450 are still difficult to express at a useful level, and consequently remain unavailable for further study without improv ement in their expression. In this review, we analyze previous reports to o btain a better understanding of the heterologous expression of P450 in E. c oli, and propose empirical rules and troubleshooting procedures that may pr ovide a better chance for successful expression of P450 species that have p roved difficult to express.