Cytochrome P450-dependent monooxygenases, in spite of their wide distribution, can be simply divided into a few groups differing in the location of the electron transfer chain and their composition. The two main groups of cytochrome P450-dependent monooxygenases are the mitochondrial and microsomal enzymes. While in two-component microsomal cytochrome P450-dependent monooxygenases electrons are supplied to cytochrome P450 by a flavoprotein (NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase), in three-component mitochondrial monooxygenases the electrons are supplied to cytochrome P450 by a low molecular weight protein (ferredoxin). The interaction of cytochrome P450 with NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase and ferredoxin is the subject of intensive studies. Using chemical modification, chemical crosslinking, and site-directed mutagenesis, we identified surface exposed positively charged residues of cytochrome P450scc which might be important for interaction with adrenodoxin. Theoretical analysis of the distribution of surface electrostatic potential in cytochrome P450 indicates that in contrast to microsomal monooxygenases, cytochromes P450 of mitochondrial type, and cholesterol side-chain cleavage cytochrome P450 (P450scc) in part, carry on the proximal surface an evidently positively charged site that is formed by residues Arg425 and Arg426. In the present work, to estimate the functional role of Arg425 and Arg426 of cytochrome P450scc, we used site-directed mutagenesis to replace these residues with glutamine. The results indicate that residues Arg425 and Arg426 are involved in the formation of a heme-binding center and electrostatic interaction of cytochrome P450scc with its physiological electron-transfer partner, adrenodoxin.
