Quantitative Atlas of Cytochrome P450, UDP-Glucuronosyltransferase, and Transporter Proteins in Jejunum of Morbidly Obese Subjects

Protein expression levels of drug-metabolizing enzymes and transporters in human jejunal tissues excised from morbidly obese subjects during gastric bypass surgery were evaluated using quantitative targeted absolute proteomics. Protein expression levels of 15 cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes, 10 UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) enzymes, and NADPH-P450 reductase (P450R) in microsomal fractions from 28 subjects and 49 transporters in plasma membrane fractions from 24 of the same subjects were determined using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Based on average values, UGT1A1, UGT2B15, UGT2B17, SGLT1, and GLUT2 exhibited high expression levels (over 10 fmol/μg protein), though UGT2B15 expression was detected at a high level in only one subject. CYP2C9, CYP2D6, CYP3A5, UGT1A6, P450R, ABCG2, GLUT5, PEPT1, MCT1, 4F2 cell-surface antigen heavy chain (4F2hc), LAT2, OSTα, and OSTβ showed intermediate levels (1-10 fmol/μg protein), and CYP1A1, CYP1A2, CYP1B1, CYP2C18, CYP2C19, CYP2J2, CYP3A7, CYP4A11, CYP51A1, UGT1A3, UGT1A4, UGT1A8, UGT2B4, ABCC1, ABCC4, ABCC5, ABCC6, ABCG8, TAUT, OATP2A1, OATP2B1, OATP3A1, OATP4A1, OCTN1, CNT2, PCFT, MCT4, GLUT4, and SLC22A18 showed low levels (less than 1 fmol/μg protein). The greatest interindividual difference (364-fold) was detected for UGT2B17. However, differences in expression levels of other quantified UGTs (except UGT2B15 and UGT2B17), CYPs (except CYP1A1 and CYP3A5), and P450R, and all quantified transporters, were within 10-fold. Expression levels of CYP1A2 and GLUT4 were significantly correlated with body-mass index. The levels of 4F2hc showed significant gender differences. Smokers showed increased levels of UGT1A1 and UGT1A3. These findings provide a basis for understanding the changes in molecular mechanisms of jejunal metabolism and transport, as well as their interindividual variability, in morbidly obese patients.