Soluble form of human FMO3 for 'in vitro' experiments

Regular readers will know that the enzyme flavin mono-oxygenase isoform 3 (FMO3) is of particular interest to MEBO, given that it oxidizes many 'smelly' sulfide and amine compounds (and is 'officially' recognised as being the enzyme at fault for trimethylaminuria). Since enzymes deal with particular chemical structures, this means it deals with compounds that can be sourced from various sources; such as the gut flora, internally produced 'biogenic' amines (eg hormones etc), and drugs.

In the pharmacology industry FMO3 would be referred to as a 'drug metabolizing enzyme', partly because they will be trying to understand how their drug is metabolized in humans to 'help' them, and partly because they will afraid of future lawsuits due to bad reactions. Probably most understanding of the 'drug metabolizing enzymes' is discovered for these reasons.

FMO3 seems to have been the 'neglected' enzyme in this group of enzymes, but it seems it is finally getting some attention. So it is good to see that some researchers have come up with a form of FMO3 that seems to be easier to do 'in vitro' (analogy : in a test tube). It seems to be a soluble form that is easier for researchers to work with. Let's hope it is a technical leap of some sorts.

...The use of this soluble form of the hFMO3 enzyme as opposed to the usual microsomal preparations is advantageous for in vitro drug metabolism studies that are a requirement in the early phases of drug development by pharmaceutical industry.

Pubmed abstract : In vitro drug metabolism by C-terminally truncated human flavin-containing monooxygenase 3

Other FMO3 links
Flavin Mono Oxygenase : The other oxidase
Wikipedia : FMO enzyme family
FMO enzyme family : Structure, polymorphisms and role in drug metabolism