Constitutively active receptor CAR

Burk O, Koch I, Raucy J, et al. The induction of cytochrome P450 3A5 (CYP3A5) in the human liver and intestine is mediated by the xenobiotic sensors pregnane X receptor (PXR) and constitutively activated receptor (CAR). J Biol Chem 2004 279(37) 38379-38385. 

In addition to PXR, the expression of UGT1A1 and several other UGT isoforms have also been reported to be regulated by several other nuclear receptors, including constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) [25,27,28] and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor a (PPARa) [29,30],... 

Increased P450 synthesis requires enhanced transcription and translation. A cytoplasmic receptor (termed AhR) for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (eg, benzo[a]pyrene, dioxin) has been identified, and the translocation of the inducer-receptor complex into the nucleus and subsequent activation of regulatory elements of genes have been documented. A pregnane X receptor (PXR), a member of the steroid-retinoid-thyroid hormone receptor family, has recently been shown to mediate CYP3 A induction by various chemicals (dexamethasone, rifampin) in the liver and intestinal mucosa. A similar receptor, the constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) has been identified for the phenobarbital class of inducers (Sueyoshi, 2001 Willson, 2002). 

Induction of CYP-mediated metabolism requires prior exposure of the hepatocyte s CYP-synthesis mechanism to a chemical inducer. The inducer signals the synthetic mechanisms to upregulate the production of one or more CYP isoforms, a process that takes time. Consequently, evidence of increased CYP activity is of slow onset following initiation of exposure to the inducer, and conversely slowly reverts to baseline after the inducer is removed (46,47). Enhancement of CYP expression/activity due to chemical induction therefore reflects prior, but not necessarily current, exposure to the inducer. Nuclear receptors, such as the pregnane X receptor (PXR) and the constitutive androstane receptor (CAR), have been identified as key elements in the process of transcriptional activation (48-56). 

Muangmoonchai R, Smirlis D, Wong SC, et al. Xenobiotic induction of cytochrome P450 2B1 (CYP2B1) is mediated by the orphan nuclear receptor constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) and requires steroid co-activator 1 (SRC-1) and the transcription factor Spl. Biochem J 2001 355 71-78. 

PXR), the Ah receptor (AhR) and the constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) ligand binding domains from the human oestrogen receptor alpha (hERalpha) crystal structure, and the human peroxisome proliferator activated receptor alpha (PPARalpha) ligand binding domain from the human PPARgamma crystal structure. / Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 2003 84 117-32. 

Treatment with each of the three conazoles resulted in similar histopathologi-cal and clinical chemistry results. A common nongenotoxic mechanism of rodent hepatocarcinogenesis involves the activation of the constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) (see Chapter 16), hepatocyte hypertrophy, the induction of CYP2B, the induction of cell proliferation, and the inhibition of apoptosis has been proposed for conazoles (Chen et al. 2009 Peffer et al. 2007). These alterations were produced by... 

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