0000000000890889
AUTHOR
Oliver Wiss
Aryl hydrocarbon receptor activation by cAMP vs. dioxin: divergent signaling pathways.
Even before the first vertebrates appeared on our planet, the aryl hydrocarbon receptor ( AHR ) gene was present to carry out one or more critical life functions. The vertebrate AHR then evolved to take on functions of detecting and responding to certain classes of environmental toxicants. These environmental pollutants include polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (e.g., benzo[ a ]pyrene), polyhalogenated hydrocarbons, dibenzofurans, and the most potent small-molecular-weight toxicant known, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo- p -dioxin (TCDD or dioxin). After binding of these ligands, the activated AHR translocates rapidly from the cytosol to the nucleus, where it forms a heterodimer with aryl hydroc…
Guanine 6-O-Methylation Pattern within the Dioxin Responsive Element of theCYP1A1 Enhancer Shows Two Critical Guanines for AhR/ARNT Binding
The core-recognition motif for TCDD-liganded AhR/ARNT complex of the dioxin-responsive element (DRE) contains four guanine residues, three on the antisense (5'-T T / A GCGTG-3') and one on the sense (5'-CACGC A / T A-3') strand. It has been reported that, in methylation-protection and methylation-interference assays, the TCDD-liganded AhR/ARNT contacts all four guanine residues. On the other hand, it is known that some anticancer drugs, and various environmental and workplace chemicals, including strongly human carcinogenic nitrosoamines, lead to the highly miscoding 6-O-methylation of guanine. In the present study, we have investigated whether specific methylation of guanine at the 6-O-pos…