Chimeric mice with near-completely humanized liver were constructed by transplantating hepatocytes from a Japanese and Caucasian donor. In the present study, we investigated the induction of human CYP1A2 and CYP3A4 mRNA in a primary culture of the cryopreserved chimeric mouse hepatocytes. beta-naphthoflavone (beta-NF) and rifampicin (Rif) were used as typical cytochrome P450 (CYP) inducers for CYP1A2 and CYP3A4, respectively. Analysis was performed by the real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction method. CYP1A2 mRNA in the primary culture of chimeric mouse hepatocytes in mice No. 1, 2, and 3 was significantly increased 3.8-, 6.3-, and 3.3-fold by 5 microM beta-NF exposure, respectively, compared with the 0.1% DMSO treated control (p<0.01). CYP3A4 mRNA in the primary culture of chimeric mouse hepatocytes in mice No. 1, 2, and 3 was significantly increased 8.4-fold (p<0.001), 2.2-fold (p<0.01), and 2.3-fold (p<0.05) by 50 microM Rif exposure, respectively, compared with the 0.1% DMSO treated control. The present study demonstrated that a primary culture of cryopreserved hepatocytes from chimeric mice with humanized liver could be used for evaluating the induction of drug metabolizing enzymes in human. This in vitro method may be a useful method for screening the induction potency of new drug candidates on drug metabolizing enzymes.