CYP2B2 gene expression and phenobarbital induction in kidneys using an in vitro transcription system.

The induction of cytochrome P450 2B1 and 2B2 in rat liver in response to phenobarbital is mediated at the transcriptional level. While in extrahepatic tissue such as the kidney, the transcription level of the CYP 2B2 gene is much lower than in the liver. The transcriptional activity of the CYP2B2 promoter constructs in nuclear proteins from kidney revealed that the in vitro system maintained the tissue-specificity of CYP2B2 transcriptional induction but not that of the basal transcription of the gene.