Multiple forms of inducible drug-metabolizing enzymes: a reasonable mechanism by which any organism can cope with adversity.

All organisms possess a number of genetically regulated mechanisms in order to cope with rapid adverse changes in the environment. The two systems which appear to respond to a seemingly endless array of chemical specificities are the immune response and the induction of drug-metabolizing enzymes. Similarities and differences between the immunoglobulin and the cytochrome P-450-mediated monooxygenase systems are described. DNA insertion sequences, plasmid "transposons," maize "controlling elements," gene duplication, intervening sequences, and high-frequency intergenic recombination are all discussed as possible methods by which organisms can "adapt" quickly to a new selective pressure. If the regulation of P-450 induction resembles in any way the other methods by which pro- and eukaryotes cope genetically with numerous forms of environmental adversity, therefore, it is very likely that mammalian tissues contain hundreds, if not thousands, of inducible forms of P-450.