The aryl hydrocarbon receptor promotes aging phenotypes across species

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor promotes aging phenotypes across species

The ubiquitously expressed aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) induces drug metabolizing enzymes as well as regulators of cell growth, differentiation and apoptosis. Certain AhR ligands promote atherosclerosis, an age-associated vascular disease. Therefore, we investigated the role of AhR in vascular functionality and aging. We report a lower pulse wave velocity in young and old AhR-deficient mice,...

Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Activation

The Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor and Tumor Immunity

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is an important cytosolic, ligand-dependent transcription factor. Emerging evidence suggests the promoting role of the AhR in the initiation, promotion, progression, invasion, and metastasis of cancer cells. Studies on various tumor types and tumor cell lines have shown high AhR expression, suggesting that AhR is activated constitutively in tumors and facilit...

Antioxidant Functions of the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a transcription factor belonging to the basic helix-loop-helix/PER-ARNT-SIM family. It is activated by a variety of ligands, such as environmental contaminants like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or dioxins, but also by naturally occurring compounds and endogenous ligands. Binding of the ligand leads to dimerization of the AhR with aryl hydrocarbon recep...

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor in tumor immunity

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) binds environmental toxins and mediates immune regulation. The tryptophan metabolite kynurenine has now been identified as an endogenous ligand of the human AHR constitutively produced by gliomas and other types of cancer via tryptophan-2,3-dioxygenase (TDO), thereby suppressing antitumor immune responses via the AHR. Thus, this pathway represents an importan...