Inhibitory effect of zinc-protoporphyrin on the induction of heme oxygenase and the associated decrease in cytochrome P-450 content in rats.

Pretreatment of rats with zinc-protoporphyrin, which has shown to be a potent competitive inhibitor of heme oxygenase, resulted in the inhibition of bromobenzene-mediated induction of heme oxygenase and decreases of the cytochrome P-450 content, aminopyrine demethylase and aniline hydroxylase activities. Such an inhibitory effect of zinc-protoporphyrin on the induction of heme oxygenase and concomitant decreases of drug-metabolizing enzymes occurred in a dose-dependent manner with complete inhibition of these effects at a dose of 40 mumol/kg. The effects of zinc-protoporphyrin were also observed in thioacetamide- and BCG-treated rats and ascitic tumor AH 66-bearing rats. Likewise, a decrease of cytochrome b5 content observed under these experimental conditions was also restored significantly by zinc-protoporphyrin. These results strongly suggest that the induction of heme oxygenase is a primarily important early event which consequently leads to the decrease in cytochrome P-450 content and associated enzyme activities.