DRUG-INDUCED CHANGES IN THE LIVER ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM: ASSOCIATION WITH DRUG-METABOLIZING ENZYMES.

The cellular changes which lead to the increase of drug-metabolizing enzymes following drug administration are explained by correlating new biochemical data with previously reported electron microscopic and pharmacologic observations. Repeated administration of phenobarbital and several other drugs results in a quantitative increase of the smooth endoplasmic reticulum of the liver cell. The marked increase in drug-metabolizing enzymes is found to occur in this enlarged smooth membrane fraction of the endoplasmic reticulum.