Latest FMO3 research paper : Japanese FMO3 Inter-individual variation

This is the latest FMO research paper published on pubmed, from a group of Japanese researchers at Laboratory of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, Showa Pharmaceutical University, Tokyo, Japan. There doesn't seem to be any significant finding, other than Japanese livers seem to vary for FMO3 as much as Caucasians ? The researchers probably reearched under the perspective of FMO3 being a 'drug metabolizing enzyme', and it is likely a small % of their work. They seem to be drug metabolism researchers (pharmacokinetics) and so will FMO3 is likely a low priority to them.

FMO3 enzyme is regarded as the enzyme saturated in the case of trimethylaminuria. It is part of the group of 'xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes' which are also the main 'drug metabolizing enzymes', although FMO is still largely perceived as unimportant by medical researchers (in comparison to the other enzymes in the group). There have been around a dozen pubmed entries on FMO3 this year

Inter-individual variation in flavin-containing monooxygenase 3 in livers from Japanese: correlation with hepatic transcription factors.

Nagashima S, Shimizu M, Yano H, Murayama N, Kumai T, Kobayashi S, Guengerich FP, Yamazaki H.

Laboratory of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, Showa Pharmaceutical University, Tokyo, Japan.

Human flavin-containing monooxygenase 3 (FMO3)-mediated microsomal oxygenation activity, levels of FMO3 protein and FMO3 mRNA and modifications were investigated in Japanese livers genotyped for the FMO3 gene. Significant correlations were observed for benzydamine N-oxygenation or methyl p-tolyl sulfide S-oxygenation activity (in the range of approximately 20- to approximately 40-fold) and FMO3 levels determined immunochemically in liver microsomes (r(2)=0.73-0.75, p less than 0.0001, n="16)." p="0.0010," n="16)," p="0.0017," n="37)."

pubmed abstract

The full paper in PDF format can be downloaded on this page :
Inter-individual variation in flavin-containing monooxygenase 3 in livers from Japanese

---

related links:
more about FMO3 on NIH page