CYP1A1 is an important enzyme involved in the detoxification and metabolism of many substances. However, this enzyme can also activate some toxic compounds into cancer-causing agents. Read on to find out more about CYP1A1, its genetics, and the natural substances that can increase or decrease CYP1A1 activity.<\/p>\n
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CYP1A1 is one of the cytochrome P450<\/a> monooxygenases (CYPs). These are enzymes that help eliminate most of the drugs and toxins<\/strong> from the human body (R<\/a>).<\/p>\n CYP1A1 metabolizes:<\/p>\n CYP1A1 is increased when environmental pollutants and chemicals bind to AhR<\/a> (R<\/a>).<\/p>\n When CYP1A1 processes PAHs, it may <\/strong>\u201cactivate<\/strong>\u201d them, converting them into cancer-causing agents<\/strong> (R<\/a>).<\/p>\n Unlike most other CYP enzymes<\/a>, this one is mainly found outside of the liver, in tissues such as the lungs (R<\/a>).<\/p>\n CYP1A1 is important for the removal of toxic chemicals from our bodies. Mice lacking this enzyme die within 30 days of benzo[a]pyrene treatment, whereas normal mice survive with no signs of toxicity (R<\/a>).<\/p>\n Although this enzyme can activate cancer-causing substances, it primarily plays an important role in their detoxification (R<\/a>).<\/p>\n It can also convert natural products found in food into anti-cancer agents (R<\/a>).<\/p>\n Some anti-tumor drugs, such as phortress and aminoflavone, actually function by increasing CYP1A1 (R<\/a>).<\/p>\n CYP1A1 plays a major role in activating cancer-causing chemicals, such as PAHs (R<\/a>).<\/p>\n This enzyme is further involved in the activation of aflatoxin B1<\/a>, a cancer-causing fungal toxin present in foodstuffs (R<\/a>).<\/p>\n It also activates tobacco-related cancer-causing N-nitrosamines, such as NNK (R<\/a>).<\/p>\n Elevated CYP1A1 activity is associated with higher lung cancer risk (300 subjects) (R<\/a>).<\/p>\n The C variant (more active than the T variant) is associated with increased susceptibility to DNA damage and cancer risk. In fact, rs4646903<\/a> was linked to leukemia, cervical, hepatocellular, lung, prostate, and head and neck cancers (meta-analysis, 268 studies, 55,963 cases, and 76,631 controls) (R<\/a>, R<\/a>, R<\/a>).<\/p>\n On the other hand, carriers of the rs4646903 C\/C developed rectal cancer at a lower rate than T\/T carriers (2769 subjects) (R<\/a>).<\/p>\n This variant may increase the risk of polycystic ovary syndrome (meta-analysis, 3489 subjects) (R<\/a>).<\/p>\n The rs1048943<\/a> G variant has been associated with lung cancer (561 subjects) (R<\/a>), leukemia (meta-analysis) (R<\/a>), and hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer) (2016 subjects) (R<\/a>).<\/p>\nFunction in Drug Metabolism<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Beneficial Effects of CYP1A1<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
Negative Effects of CYP1A1<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
Genetics<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
rs4646903<\/span><\/h3>\n
rs1048943<\/span><\/h3>\n