P450IIB gene expression in rat small intestine: cloning of intestinal P450IIB1 mRNA using the polymerase chain reaction and transcriptional regulation of induction.

Intestinal cytochromes P450 (P450) may function in the "first pass" metabolism of drugs, the detoxification of xenobiotics, or the activation of carcinogens. However, little is known about the expression of specific P450 genes in intestinal mucosa. We have previously shown that a P450 mRNA that is homologous to rat liver P450IIB1 (P450b) is expressed in rat small intestine and is inducible by phenobarbital, polyhalogenated biphenyls, and organochlorine pesticides. However, there are multiple highly homologous genes in the IIB subfamily and, therefore, studies using liver-derived cDNAs or oligonucleotides based on those cDNAs cannot definitively establish the identity of the intestinal mRNA(s). The polymerase chain reaction was used to enzymatically amplify cDNA synthesized from intestinal and hepatic RNA, and the amplified segments were identified by Southern blot analysis. These studies demonstrated that the amplified segment of the phenobarbital-inducible P450 mRNA in intestine was identical to this same segment of the hepatic P450b mRNA; furthermore, this analysis showed that P450e was not expressed in intestine. To definitively establish the identity of the intestinal mRNA, the full coding sequence of the P450b mRNA was cloned from intestinal and hepatic RNA and sequenced. The sequences of the intestinal and hepatic cDNA were identical and coded for P450b; the deduced protein sequence in the F344 rat differed in one amino acid from the reported sequence in Sprague-Dawley rats and, thus, represents a different allele of the same gene. An increment in intestinal P450b mRNA was detected as early as 1 hr following a single intraperitoneal injection of phenobarbital; this prompt rise in mRNA suggested that transcriptional activation may be the primary mechanism for induction. Nuclear run-on experiments were performed using nuclei isolated from intestinal mucosa 3 and 6 hr following treatment with phenobarbital. The rate of transcription of the P450IIB1 gene was increased approximately 6-fold 6 hr following phenobarbital; this was very similar to the increment in P450b mRNA as measured by quantitative dot blot analysis. Therefore, the predominant mechanism for the induction of P450b mRNA in intestine in response to phenobarbital was an increase in gene transcription. These studies indicate that the same member of the P450IIB subfamily, P450IIB1 or P450b, is expressed and inducible by similar mechanisms in small intestine and liver. Although putative P450b mRNA and apoprotein have been identified in lung and testes, the capacity for induction by phenobarbital, and presumably other xenobiotics, is unique to liver and intestine.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)