Cited by 642Toxic Organic Pollutants ImpactPharmacogenetics and Drug MetabolismEnvironmental Toxicology and Ecotoxicology

Aryl hydrocarbon receptors: diversity and evolution

Hahn, Mark E·2002·Chemico-Biological Interactions

Abstract

Animals have evolved inducible enzymatic defenses to facilitate the biotransformation and elimination of toxic compounds encountered in the environment. The sensory component of this system consists of soluble receptors that regulate the expression of certain isoforms of cytochrome P450, other enzymes, and transporters in response to environmental chemicals. These receptors include several members of the steroid/nuclear receptor superfamily as well as the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), a member of the bHLH-PAS gene superfamily. In addition to its adaptive functions, the AHR serves poorly understood physiological roles; interference with those roles by dioxins and related chemicals causes toxicity. One approach to understanding the physiological significance of the AHR is to characterize its structure, function, and regulation in diverse species, including mammals, birds, fish, and invertebrates. These animal groups include model species with unique features that can be exploited to broaden our understanding of AHR function. Studies carried out in diverse species also provide phylogenetic information that allows inferences about the evolutionary history of the AHR. This review summarizes the current understanding of AHR diversity among animal species and the evolution of the AHR signaling pathway, as inferred from molecular studies in vertebrate and invertebrate animals. The AHR gene has undergone duplication and diversification in vertebrate animals, resulting in at least three members of an AHR gene family: AHR1, AHR2, and AHR repressor. The inability of invertebrate AHR homologs to bind dioxins and related chemicals, along with other evidence, suggests that the adaptive role of the AHR as a regulator of xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes may have been a vertebrate innovation. The physiological functions of the AHR during development appear to be ancestral to the adaptive functions. Sensitivity to the developmental toxicity of dioxins and related chemicals may have had its origin in the evolution of dioxin-binding capacity of the AHR in the vertebrate lineage.

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Crossref · 10.1016/s0009-2797(02)00070-4

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  • Differences in receptor size, affinity, sensitivity, and stability have been used to support the idea that the AHR is an evolutionarily malleable molecule that adapts to different chemical environments.

    “These differences in receptor size, affinity, sensitivity, and stability have been used to support the idea that the AHR is an evolutionarily malleable molecule that adapts to different chemical environments (M. S. Denison & Nagy, 2003; M. E. Hahn, 2002; Mark E. Hahn et al., 2017).”

    From Rodent Genetic Models of Ah Receptor Signaling (2021) · cites this paper as M. E. Hahn, 2002

  • The PAS gene family has undergone expansion in vertebrates, with two or three paralogs for each gene found in D. melanogaster, C. elegans, and C. intestinalis.

    “The PAS gene family has undergone expansion in vertebrates, with two or three paralogs for each of the genes found in the genomes of D. melanogaster, C. elegans, and C. intestinalis (Hahn, 2002;Hahn et al., 2006).”

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Authors
Hahn, M. E.
Affiliations
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (US)
Corresponding author
Hahn, Mark E
Venue
Chemico-Biological Interactions
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2002-09
Volume
141
Issue
1-2
Pages
131-160
ISSN
0009-2797 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W1968906511
Cited by
642
References
204
Citations by year
2026: 12 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 27 · 2020: 26 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 25 · 2017: 25 · 2016: 32 · 2015: 26 · 2014: 31 · 2013: 33 · 2012: 25
FWCI
19.20
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Chemico-Biological Interactions (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (ES06272, R01ES006272)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Toxic Organic Pollutants Impact
  • Life Sciences › Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics › Pharmacology › Pharmacogenetics and Drug Metabolism
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Environmental Toxicology and Ecotoxicology
Keywords
aryl hydrocarbon receptor, AHR2, xenobiotic metabolism, cytochrome P450 induction, gene duplication, developmental toxicity, phylogenetic analysis, vertebrate evolution
MeSH terms
Animals, Humans, Phylogeny, Species Specificity, Receptors, Aryl Hydrocarbon, Evolution, Molecular

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