Induction, Regulation and Inhibition

This chapter is concerned with P450 gene expression and its regulation by a variety of different factors. It is well known that the catalytic activity of P450s depends on their constitutive or inducible levels, and these may be modified at various stages in the process of protein synthesis and incorporation of heme to form the holoenzyme (Gibson and Skett, 1994). Furthermore, inhibition and post-translational modification will affect the ability of a given P450 to catalyze the oxidation of substrates (Murray, 1992; Jansson, 1993).