The aryl hydrocarbon receptor: A comparative perspective

作     者：Hahn, ME 

作者机构：Woods Hole Oceanog Inst Dept Biol Woods Hole MA 02543 USA 

出 版 物：《COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY C-TOXICOLOGY & PHARMACOLOGY》 (比较生物化学与生理学C辑:毒理学与药理学)

年 卷 期：1998年第121卷第1-3期

页      面：23-53页

核心收录：

学科分类：0710[理学-生物学] 071010[理学-生物化学与分子生物学] 1002[医学-临床医学] 1001[医学-基础医学(可授医学、理学学位)] 07[理学] 

基　　金：NIEHS NIH HHS [R01 ES006272  P42 ES07381  R01 ES006272-08  R29 ES06272] Funding Source: Medline 

主　　题：dioxin aryl hydrocarbon receptor Ah receptor cytochrome P450 1A1 evolution ARNT basic helix-loop-helix PAS domain 

摘      要：The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (Ah receptor or AHR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor involved in the regulation of several genes, including those for xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes such as cytochrome P450 1A and 1B forms. Ligands for the AHR include a variety of aromatic hydrocarbons, including the chlorinated dioxins and related halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons whose toxicity occurs through activation of the AHR. The AHR and its dimerization partner ARNT are members of the emerging bHLH-PAS family of transcriptional regulatory proteins. In this review, our current understanding of the AHR signal transduction pathway in non-mammalian and other non-traditional species is summarized, with an emphasis on similarities and differences in comparison to the AHR pathway in rodents and humans. Evidence and prospects for the presence of a functional AHR in early vertebrates and invertebrates are also examined. An overview of the bHLH-PAS family is presented in relation to the diversity of bHLH-PAS proteins and the functional and evolutionary relationships of the AHR and ARNT to the other members of this family. Finally, some of the most promising directions for future research on the comparative biochemistry and molecular biology of the AHR and ARNT are discussed. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.