Deletion of the mouse Fmo1 gene results in enhanced pharmacological behavioural responses to imipramine.

OBJECTIVES: Many drugs are the subject of multipathway oxidative metabolism catalyzed by one or more cytochromes P450 or flavin-containing monooxygenases (FMOs). This complicates assessment of the role of individual enzymes in metabolizing the drug and, hence, in understanding its pharmacogenetics. To define the role of FMOs in drug metabolism, we produced FMO-deficient mice. METHODS: An Fmo1(-/-), Fmo2(-/-), Fmo4(-/-) mouse line was produced by using chromosomal engineering and Cre-loxP technology. To assess the utility of the mutant mouse line, it was used to investigate the role of FMO in the metabolism of and response to the antidepressant imipramine, which has four major metabolites, three produced by cytochromes P450 and one, imipramine N-oxide, solely by FMO1. RESULTS: On treatment with imipramine, wild-type mice became sedated and produced imipramine N-oxide in the brain and other tissues. In contrast, knockout mice did not produce imipramine N-oxide, but showed exaggerated pharmacological behavioural responses, such as tremor and body spasm, and had a higher concentration of the parent compound imipramine in the serum and kidney and there was an increase in desipramine in the brain. CONCLUSION: The absence of FMO1-mediated N-oxidation of imipramine results in enhanced central nervous system effects of the drug. The results provide insights into the metabolism of imipramine in the brain and may explain the basis of the adverse reactions to the drug seen in some patients. The knockout mouse line will provide a valuable resource for defining the role of FMO1 in the metabolism of drugs and other foreign chemicals.

Alternative promoters and repetitive DNA elements define the species-dependent tissue-specific expression of the FMO1 genes of human and mouse.

In humans, expression of the FMO1 (flavin-containing mono-oxygenase 1) gene is silenced postnatally in liver, but not kidney. In adult mouse, however, the gene is active in both tissues. We investigated the basis of this species-dependent tissue-specific transcription of FMO1. Our results indicate the use of three alternative promoters. Transcription of the gene in fetal human and adult mouse liver is exclusively from the P0 promoter, whereas in extra-hepatic tissues of both species, P1 and P2 are active. Reporter gene assays showed that the proximal P0 promoters of human (hFMO1) and mouse (mFmo1) genes are equally effective. However, sequences upstream (-2955 to -506) of the proximal P0 of mFmo1 increased reporter gene activity 3-fold, whereas hFMO1 upstream sequences (-3027 to -541) decreased reporter gene activity by 75%. Replacement of the upstream sequence of human P0 with the upstream sequence of mouse P0 increased activity of the human proximal P0 8-fold. Species-specific repetitive elements are present immediately upstream of the proximal P0 promoters. The human gene contains five LINE (long-interspersed nuclear element)-1-like elements, whereas the mouse gene contains a poly A region, an 80-bp direct repeat, an LTR (long terminal repeat), a SINE (short-interspersed nuclear element) and a poly T tract. The rat and rabbit FMO1 genes, which are expressed in adult liver, lack some (rat) or all (rabbit) of the elements upstream of mouse P0. Thus silencing of FMO1 in adult human liver is due apparently to the presence upstream of the proximal P0 of L1 (LINE-1) elements rather than the absence of retrotransposons similar to those found in the mouse gene.

Deletion of genes from the mouse genome using Cre/loxP technology.

The steps required to delete genes from the mouse genome are illustrated by showing how a cluster of three flavin-containing monooxygenase (Fmo) genes (Fmol, Fmo2, and Fmo4) were deleted from mouse chromosome 1. Such large deletions are accomplished using loxP/Cre recombinase technology. Genomic clones corresponding to the genes to be deleted are first isolated, and then appropriate genomic fragments are cloned into vectors containing a loxP site. This produces targeting vectors, which are electroporated into mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells to allow a homologous recombination event to take place between the mouse genomic fragment, present within the vector, and the homologous sequences in the ES cell genome. Screening of ES cells for recombinants in which loxP sites have been inserted on either side of the gene cluster to be deleted is described. Recombination by Cre recombinase to produce ES cell lines carrying the deletion on chromosome 1 is also described.

Deletion of Genes From the Mouse Genome Using Cre/loxP Technology.

The steps required to delete genes from the mouse genome are illustrated by showing how a cluster of three flavin-containing monooxygenase (Fmo) genes (Fmo1, Fmo2, and Fmo4) were deleted from mouse chromosome 1. Such large deletions are accomplished using loxP/Cre recombinase technology. Genomic clones corresponding to the genes to be deleted are first isolated, and then appropriate genomic fragments are cloned into vectors containing a loxP site. This produces targeting vectors, which are electroporated into mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells to allow a homologous recombination event to take place between the mouse genomic fragment, present within the vector, and the homologous sequences in the ES cell genome. Screening of ES cells for recombinants in which loxP sites have been inserted on either side of the gene cluster to be deleted is described. Recombination by Cre recombinase to produce ES cell lines carrying the deletion on chromosome 1 is also described.

Organization and evolution of the flavin-containing monooxygenase genes of human and mouse: identification of novel gene and pseudogene clusters.

OBJECTIVES: To date, six flavin-containing monooxygenase (FMO) genes have been identified in humans, FMOs 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6, which are located within a cluster on chromosome 1, and FMO5, which is located outside the cluster. The objectives were to review and update current knowledge of the structure and expression profiles of these genes and of their mouse counterparts and to determine, via a bioinformatics approach, whether other FMO genes are present in the human and mouse genomes. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: We have identified, for the first time, a mouse Fmo6 gene. In addition, we describe a novel human FMO gene cluster on chromosome 1, located 4 Mb telomeric of the original cluster. The novel cluster contains five genes, all of which exhibit characteristics of pseudogenes. We propose the names FMO 7P, 8P, 9P, 10P and 11P for these genes. We also describe a novel mouse gene cluster, located approximately 3.5 Mb distal of the original gene cluster on Chromosome 1. The novel mouse cluster contains three genes, all of which contain full-length open-reading frames and possess no obvious features characteristic of pseudogenes. One of the genes is apparently a functional orthologue of human FMO9P. We propose the names Fmo9, 12 and 13 for the novel mouse genes. Orthologues of these genes are also present in rat. Sequence comparisons and phylogenetic analyses indicate that the novel human and mouse gene clusters arose, not from duplications of the known gene cluster, but via a series of independent gene duplication events. The mammalian FMO gene family is thus more complex than previously realised.