Estrogen-responsive element (ERE)-like motifs affect the 3-methylcholanthrene induction of eel CYP1A gene.

Some forms of cytochrome P450 (CYP) genes are known to be induced by xenobiotics such as dioxins. Induction of the CYP1A gene is mediated by an aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) which binds to a specific nucleotide sequence called a dioxin-responsive element (DRE) located in the 5' enhancer region of the gene. Functional analysis of the regulatory region of the eel CYP1A gene had shown that a 654-bp region near the basal promoter, containing no DREs but three motifs that resemble estrogen-responsive element (ERE) halfsites, contributes substantially to the induced expression.