Identification of the major cytochrome P450s of subfamily 2C that are expressed in brain of female rats and in olfactory lobes of ethanol treated male rats.

The reverse transcriptase (RT)/polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methodology was used with a set of primers that corresponds to two conserved regions of the cytochrome P450s of subfamily 2C, in order to identify the members of this group of enzymes that are expressed at the RNA level in rat brain. Seven RT/PCR clones were sequenced from female brain, and four were found to code for P450 2C7 while three for P450 2C12. Using the same methodology nine RT/PCR clones were sequenced from olfactory lobes of ethanol treated male rats and three were found to code for P450 2C6, one for P450 2C11, three for P450 2C12 and two for P450 2C23. Neither ethanol administration nor hypophysectomy or growth hormone treatment had significant effects on the expression levels of these cytochromes in the brain.