Assay of aromatase activity.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the assay of aromatase activity. The conversion of androgens to estrogens is catalyzed by an enzyme complex termed aromatase, which is comprised of a specific form of microsomal cytochrome P450, aromatase cytochrome P450, and the flavoprotein nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADPH)-cytochrome-P450 reductase. Cytochrome P450arom has an apparent molecular weight of 55,000 as determined by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The molecular analysis and characterization of P450arom include the isolation and sequencing of a complementary DNA 5 and the structural analysis of the gene encoding human cytochrome P450arom. Aromatase activity is expressed in several tissue sites including the placenta, granulosa cells, Sertoli and Leydig cells, adipose tissue, several sites in the brain of both sexes, and the preimplantation blastocyst. The aromatase activity results of the tritiated water-release assay should be verified by the estrogen product isolation assay.

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