presence. The increased expression of CYP2E1 accompanying these health conditions may therefore contribute to their pathogenesis by increasing the rate of production of ROS in the body. According to a 1995 publication by Y Hu et al., a study in rats revealed a 8- to 9-fold elevation of CYP2E1 with fasting alone, compared to a 20-fold increase in enzyme level accompanied by a 16-fold increase in total catalytic capacity in rats who were both fasted and given large quantities of ethanol for 3 consecutive days. Starvation appears to upregulate CYP2E1 mRNA production in liver cells while alcohol seems to stabilize the enzyme itself post-translation and thus protect it from degradation by normal cellular proteolytic processes, giving the two an independent synergistic effect. Applications Trees have been genetically engineered to overexpress the CYP2E1 enzyme. These transgenic trees have been used to remove pollutants from groundwater, a process known as phytoremediation. See also Cytochrome Metabolism List of cytochrome P450 modulators References Further reading External links 2 EC 1.14.13