Aryl hydrocarbon receptor
Also known as: AHR, BHLHE76
Function
Ligand-activated transcription factor that enables cells to adapt to changing conditions by sensing compounds from the environment, diet, microbiome and cellular metabolism, and which plays important roles in development, immunity and cancer. Upon ligand binding, translocates into the nucleus, where it heterodimerizes with ARNT and induces transcription by binding to xenobiotic response elements (XRE). Regulates a variety of biological processes, including angiogenesis, hematopoiesis, drug and lipid metabolism, cell motility and immune modulation. Xenobiotics can act as ligands: upon xenobiotic-binding, activates the expression of multiple phase I and II xenobiotic chemical metabolizing enzyme genes (such as the CYP1A1 gene). Mediates biochemical and toxic effects of halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons. Next to xenobiotics, natural ligands derived from plants, microbiota, and endogenous metabolism are potent AHR agonists. Tryptophan (Trp) derivatives constitute an important class of endogenous AHR ligands. Acts as a negative regulator of anti-tumor immunity: indoles and kynurenic acid generated by Trp catabolism act as ligand and activate AHR, thereby promoting AHR-driven cancer cell motility and suppressing adaptive immunity. Regulates the circadian clock by inhibiting the basal and circadian expression of the core circadian component PER1. Inhibits PER1 by repressing the CLOCK-BMAL1 heterodimer mediated transcriptional activation of PER1. The heterodimer ARNT:AHR binds to the dioxin response element (DRE) of target gene promoters and activates their transcription.
Classification
- Family (Pfam)
- PF00010 HLH, PF00989 PAS, PF08447 PAS_3
- InterPro
- AHR/AHRR, AHR_bHLH, bHLH_dom, HLH_DNA-bd_sf, PAC, PAS, PAS-like_dom_sf, PAS_fold, PAS_fold_3
- Functional cluster
- Homeobox & Zinc-Finger Transcription Factors
Experimental structures · PDB · 3
A predicted model is available from AlphaFold.
Gene Ontology · 46
- GO:0034751 aryl hydrocarbon receptor complex
- GO:0000785 chromatin
- GO:0005737 cytoplasm
- GO:0005829 cytosol
- GO:0034752 cytosolic aryl hydrocarbon receptor complex
- GO:0034753 nuclear aryl hydrocarbon receptor complex
- GO:0005654 nucleoplasm
- GO:0005634 nucleus
- GO:0032991 protein-containing complex
- GO:0005667 transcription regulator complex
- GO:0000987 cis-regulatory region sequence-specific DNA binding
- GO:0003677 DNA binding
- GO:0003700 DNA-binding transcription factor activity
- GO:0000981 DNA-binding transcription factor activity, RNA polymerase II-specific
- GO:0070888 E-box binding
- GO:0051879 Hsp90 protein binding
- GO:0004879 nuclear receptor activity
- GO:0046982 protein heterodimerization activity
- GO:0042803 protein homodimerization activity
- GO:0061629 RNA polymerase II-specific DNA-binding transcription factor binding
- GO:1990837 sequence-specific double-stranded DNA binding
- GO:0017025 TBP-class protein binding
- GO:0001094 TFIID-class transcription factor complex binding
- GO:0000976 transcription cis-regulatory region binding
- GO:0001223 transcription coactivator binding
- GO:0006915 apoptotic process
- GO:0001568 blood vessel development
- GO:1904613 cellular response to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzodioxine
- GO:0071320 cellular response to cAMP
- GO:1904322 cellular response to forskolin
- GO:0071219 cellular response to molecule of bacterial origin
- GO:0032922 circadian regulation of gene expression
- GO:0006351 DNA-templated transcription
- GO:0045892 negative regulation of DNA-templated transcription
- GO:0050728 negative regulation of inflammatory response
- GO:0002841 negative regulation of T cell mediated immune response to tumor cell
- GO:0045893 positive regulation of DNA-templated transcription
- GO:0045944 positive regulation of transcription by RNA polymerase II
- GO:0002819 regulation of adaptive immune response
- GO:0030888 regulation of B cell proliferation
- GO:0006355 regulation of DNA-templated transcription
- GO:0010468 regulation of gene expression
- GO:0006357 regulation of transcription by RNA polymerase II
- GO:0009636 response to toxic substance
- GO:0009410 response to xenobiotic stimulus
- GO:0006805 xenobiotic metabolic process
Disease associations
- retinitis pigmentosa 85 MONDO:0032689
- foveal hypoplasia 3 MONDO:0975805
Drugs targeting this protein · 1
- TAPINAROF agonist
Related proteins · sequence + function similarity
- Aryl hydrocarbon receptor 0.96
- Aryl hydrocarbon receptor 0.94
- Aryl hydrocarbon receptor 0.91
- Aryl hydrocarbon receptor 0.91
- Aryl hydrocarbon receptor 0.90
- Aryl hydrocarbon receptor 0.90
- Aryl hydrocarbon receptor 0.90
- Aryl hydrocarbon receptor 0.89
- Aryl hydrocarbon receptor 0.88
- Aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator 0.79
- Aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator 0.78
- Aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator 0.78
Co-cited proteins · studied together in the literature
- Aryl hydrocarbon receptor 4 shared papers
- L-amino-acid oxidase 2 shared papers
- Protein mono-ADP-ribosyltransferase TIPARP 2 shared papers
- Aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator 2 shared papers
- Protein mono-ADP-ribosyltransferase TIPARP 1 shared papers
- Influenza virus NS1A-binding protein 1 shared papers
- Aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator 1 shared papers
- Aryl hydrocarbon receptor 1 shared papers
- Cytochrome P450 1A1 1 shared papers
- Nuclear receptor coactivator 7 1 shared papers
- L-amino-acid oxidase 1 shared papers
- Ubiquitin-like protein NEDD8 1 shared papers
Literature · 31 cited papers
- Novel biallelic AHR splice site mutation cause isolated foveal hypoplasia in Saudi patient: a case report. Ophthalmic Genet. · 2022
- The role of DNA-binding and ARNT dimerization on the nucleo-cytoplasmic translocation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor. Sci. Rep. · 2021
- Gene and protein expression in subjects with a nystagmus-associated AHR mutation. Front. Genet. · 2020
- An endogenous indole pyruvate pathway for tryptophan metabolism mediated by IL4I1. J. Agric. Food Chem. · 2020
- IL4I1 is a metabolic immune checkpoint that activates the AHR and promotes tumor progression. Cell · 2020
- Homozygous stop mutation in AHR causes autosomal recessive foveal hypoplasia and infantile nystagmus. Brain · 2019
- Characterization of TCDD-Inducible Poly-ADP-Ribose Polymerase (TIPARP/ARTD14) Catalytic Activity. Biochem. J. · 2018
- A splicing mutation in aryl hydrocarbon receptor associated with retinitis pigmentosa. Hum. Mol. Genet. · 2018
- Structural Basis for Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor-Mediated Gene Activation. Structure · 2017
- 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (TiPARP, ARTD14) is a mono-ADP-ribosyltransferase and repressor of aryl hydrocarbon receptor transactivation. Nucleic Acids Res. · 2013
- N-terminal acetylome analyses and functional insights of the N-terminal acetyltransferase NatB. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. · 2012
- The search for endogenous activators of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor. Chem. Res. Toxicol. · 2008
- … and 19 more in the literature graph