Question

What is the connection between dioxins and the Aryl Hydrocarbon receptor?

Answer 1

aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) :- is a protein that in humans or vertebrates is encoded by the AHR gene. the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) gene was present to carry out one or more critical life functions.The aryl hydrocarbon receptor is a ligand-activated transcription factor involved in the regulation of biological responses to planar aromatic (aryl) hydrocarbons.

The AHR then evolved to take on functions of detecting and responding to certain classes of environmental toxicants. These environmental pollutants include polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polyhalogenated hydrocarbons, dibenzofurans, and the most potent small-molecular-weight toxicant known, dioxin. After binding of these ligands, the activated AHR translocates rapidly from the cytosol to the nucleus, where it forms a heterodimer with aryl hydrocarbon nuclear translocator, causing cellular responses that lead to toxicity, carcinogenesis, and teratogenesis. activates the AHR, moving the receptor to the nucleus in some ways that are similar to and in other ways fundamentally different from AHR activation by dioxin. disruption of the cAMP-mediated activation by dioxin, Understanding this endogenous activation of the AHR by cAMP may help in developing methods to counteract the toxicity caused by numerous environmental and food-borne toxic chemicals that act via the AHR.