Paroxon is an organophosphorus anticholinesterase compound, used topically in the treatment of glaucoma. It is produced in vivo in mammals by microsomal oxidation of the insecticide parathion. Parathion is inert until transformed to paroxon. Paroxonase (paraoxonase or PON) is an arylesterase that is capable of hydrolyzing paroxon to produce p-nitrophenol. PONs are nonspecific and their classification is based not only on substrate specificity but also on tissue distribution, inhibition properties, and physicochemical characteristics such as electrophoretic mobility and molecular weight. In contrast to PON1, which is expressed mainly in the liver, PON2 is expressed in a variety of mouse tissues, including the pancreas. PON3 is associated with the high density lipoprotein fraction of serum. The genes which encode PON1-3 are physically linked and map to human chromosome 7q21.3.
