CHARACTERIZATION OF MICROSOMAL CYTOCHROME P450-DEPENDENT MONOOXYGENASES IN THE RAT OLFACTORY MUCOSA

Nasal administration of a drug ensures therapeutic action by rapid systemic absorption and/or the entry of some molecules into the brain through different routes. Many recent studies have pointed out the presence of xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes in rat olfactory mucosa (OM). Nevertheless, very little is known about the precise identity of isoforms of cytochrome P450 (P450)-dependent monooxygenases (P450) and their metabolic function in this tissue. Therefore, we evaluated mRNA expression of 19 P450 isoforms by semiquantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and measured their microsomal activity toward six model substrates. For purposes of comparison, studies were conduct…