Question

For Biology of Cancer- Please Explain

The regulation of expression of the Ah locus, the protein products regulated by the activities of each gene, the mechanisms of AH-induced gene expression. Should be able to reason (and give an example) on how a selective or aberrant regulation of the Ah-locus might affect the predisposition to malignancies associated with exposure to AH (such as in smoking).

Answer 1

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR or AHR or ahr or ahR) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the AHR gene. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor is a transcription factor that regulates gene expression. It was originally thought to function primarily as a sensor of xenobiotic chemicals and also as the regulator of enzymes such as cytochrome P450s that metabolize these chemicals. The most notable of these xenobiotic chemicals are aromatic (aryl) hydrocarbons from which the receptor derives its name.

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor is a member of the family of basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors. AHR binds several exogenous ligands such as natural plant flavonoids, polyphenolics and indoles, as well as synthetic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and dioxin-like compounds. AhR is a cytosolic transcription factor that is normally inactive, bound to several co-chaperones. Upon ligand binding to chemicals such as 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), the chaperones dissociate resulting in AhR translocating into the nucleus and dimerizing with ARNT (AhR nuclear translocator), leading to changes in gene transcription.The polymorphism of mammalian aromatic hydrocarbon (Ah) responsiveness appears to be correlated with genetic differences in risk of bronchogenic carcinoma caused by cigarette smoking.

The human polymorphism has been uncovered, largely as the result of corresponding genetic differences characterized first in the mouse. The murine Ah locus has been defined as the gene encoding the aromatic hydrocarbon-responsive (Ah) receptor, responsible for the inducibility of a battery of at least six genes, two of which encode P450 enzymes. The high-affinity receptor and, hence, more highly induced levels of P450, can result in greater concentrations of polycyclic aromatic reactive intermediates that form DNA adducts and, ultimately, mutation fixation (tumour initiation). The Ah receptor is also likely to participate in growth and differentiation signal transduction pathways (tumour promotion).Positive and negative control regions flanking the murine Cyp 1a-1 and human CYP 1A1 (cytochrome P1 450) genes have been identified. A DNA motif approximately 1 kb upstream of the transcription start site appears to affect the translatability of the CYP1A1 mRNA and activity of the enzyme. Expression of the CYP1A1 or CYP1A2 enzyme in mouse hepatoma Hepa-1 cells lacking endogenous CYP1A1 activity represses constitutive transcription of not only the endogenous Cypla-1 gene but other genes in the dioxin-inducible [Ah] battery.Human polymorphisms involving a Msp I site 450 bp downstream from the last CYP 1A1 exon have been described in Japan, the Eastern Mediterranean, Norway and the USA. The ‘1.9 allele’ is associated with an increased incidence of Kreyberg Type I bronchogenic carcinomas in Japan and has recently been correlated with a valine-to-isoleucine substitution at position 462 in the haeme-binding region. This allele is about 3 times more frequent in Japan than in Caucasians of Norway and the USA, in which no correlation has been found between this allele and lung cancer. More work is needed to clarify these findings. Isolation and sequencing of the human Ah receptor cDNA, and the subsequent screening of populations for polymorphisms, hold great promise for predicting interindividual risk of cancer caused by smoking and other environmental pollutants.