
Preface 
In Dantean terms, three is a magic number, and this is the third edition of this book. Two decades ago the 
first edition appeared at a time when the first crystal structure of
 a
 P450 enzyme had just been determined, 
the multiphcity of P450 isoforms was just beginning to be reahzed, and determination of the human 
genome was not even a dream. The first edition surveyed a field that was young and awkward but full of 
promise. Ten years later, when the second edition appeared, enormous progress had been made in all 
aspects of P450 chemistry and biology. The structures of several bacterial P450 enzymes were then avail-
able,
 a systematic nomenclature system had brought order to the chaos engendered by the rapidly grow-
ing number of isoforms, and the mechanisms involved in regulation of P450 activity were beginning to 
yield their secrets. The subsequent 10 years have brought the field to the maturity reflected in this third 
edition of the book. The dream of obtaining crystal structures of the mammalian P450 enzymes has 
become a reality, the human genome has defined the number of P450 enzymes in homo sapiens, and P450 
enzymes have taken center stage in the pharmaceutical industry because of their critical roles in the suc-
cess or failure of new therapeutic agents. The field continues to be exciting and vigorous, but it is now 
the excitement of maturity and fulfillment. The increasing sophistication of both the questions that can 
be asked and the experimental tools available for their investigation has led to a deeper, more satisfying, 
understanding of the P450 system and, in some cases, to a reexamination of earlier conclusions. 
In order to accommodate the new areas of P450 biology that have come into their own in the past 
decade it has been necessary to eliminate the chapters on the peroxidases, nitric oxide synthases, and 
related proteins that in earlier editions placed the P450 system in its hemoprotein context. The first sec-
tion of the book, which collects the work on the structure and mechanism of the P450 enzymes, includes 
chapters on the model systems used to elucidate P450 chemistry (Chapter 1) and on recent develop-
ments in computational chemistry that rationalize the sometimes conflicting mechanistic observations 
(Chapter 2). These chapters are followed by an up-to-date discussion of bacterial and mammalian crys-
tal structures (Chapter 3), a current review of the electron transfer partners (Chapter 4), a detailed dis-
cussion of the mechanism for activation of molecular oxygen (Chapter 5), and a general review of 
substrate oxidation mechanisms (Chapter 6). This broad introduction to P450 structure and mechanism 
closes with an updated review of the inhibition of P450 enzymes (Chapter
 7).
 The second section of the 
book, which focuses on the biology of manmialian P450 enzymes, includes a discussion of our current 
understanding of the induction of P450 enzymes (Chapter 8), a review of the hormonal influences on 
P450 expression and activity (Chapter 9), a very extensive summary of the biology of all the human 
cytochrome P450 enzymes (Chapter 10), and a chapter on the oxidation of arachidonic acid and 
eicosanoids (Chapter 11). The final section of the book is comprised of a chapter on non-mammalian— 
primarily plant—P450 enzymes (Chapter 12) and a review of bacterial P450 enzymes and their biotech-
nological potential (Chapter 13). The book, as before, closes with an appendix containing practical 
experimental information for individuals doing research in the P450 field. 
It is my hope that this third edition will turn out to be as useful as the prior editions. Perhaps, with 
luck, it may even prove to be sufficiently special to justify the folkloric expectations of a third effort. 
I gratefully dedicate this third edition to my brother Bernard, who brought me into chemistry; to my 
wife Kirby, who for the past 30 years has gracefully sacrificed Saturday companionship to the demands 
of the laboratory; to Almira Correia, who has made P450 a congenial experience at UCSF for almost as 
long; and to my daughters, Lara and Maya, who decided to pass on P450 but continue to amaze me. 
Paul R. Ortiz de Montellano San Francisco