Expression of CYP3A4, CYP2B6, and CYP2C9 is regulated by the vitamin D receptor pathway in primary human hepatocytes.

The fully active dihydroxylated metabolite of vitamin D(3) induces the expression of CYP3A4 and, to a lesser extent, CYP2B6 and CYP2C9 genes in normal differentiated primary human hepatocytes. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays and cotransfection in HepG2 cells using wild-type and mutated oligonucleotides revealed that the vitamin D receptor (VDR) binds and transactivates those xenobiotic-responsive elements (ER6, DR3, and DR4) previously identified in CYP3A4, CYP2B6, and CYP2C9 promoters and shown to be targeted by the pregnane X receptor (PXR) and/or the constitutive androstane receptor (CAR). Full VDR response of various CYP3A4 heterologous/homologous promoter-reporter constructs requires both the proximal ER6 and the distal DR3 motifs, as observed previously with rifampicin-activated PXR.