ABSTRACT
The toxicity of xenobiotics is often characterized by tissue specificity and compound selectivity. In many cases, this can be explained mechanistically by the tissue-specific expression of high-affinity intracellular receptors for many xenobiotics. These receptors may then mediate the toxicity through a number of signaling pathways or through direct interaction with specific response element on the DNA (there are other xenobiotic-binding proteins in cells; if they do not transmit a signal, they are not considered a receptor).
