Project description:Indole-3-pyruvate (I3P), an endogenous metabolite derived from tryptophan by gut microbiota and IL4I1 enzyme in humans can potentially activate the transcriptional activity of the Aryl Hydrocarbon receptor. Here we test this by stimulating AHR proficient U-87MG cells with I3P alone or in combination with the AHR antagonist SR1.
Project description:We analyzed the mRNA changes iduced by the alpha keto acids Phenylpyruvate (PP), 4-Hydroxyphenylpyruvate (4HPP) or Indole-3-pyruvate (I3P) in THP-1 cells.
Project description:Sensing of microbial tryptophan catabolites by the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) plays a pivotal role in host-microbiome homeostasis by modulating the host immune response. Thereby the involved cellular processes triggered by the metabolites are largely unknown. We analyzed proteomic changes in macrophages trough 24h after treatment with the tryptophan metabolites indole-3-acetic acid (I3AA) or indole-3-aldehyde (IAld), as well as the prototypic AhR-ligand Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) in the absence and presence of LPS to identify affected processes and pathways.
Project description:The Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor (AHR) regulates the expression of numerous genes in response to activation by agonists including xenobiotics. Although it is well appreciated that environmental signals and cell intrinsic features may modulate this transcriptional response, how it is mechanistically achieved remains poorly understood. We show that Hexokinase 2 (HK2) a metabolic enzyme fuelling cancer cell growth, is a transcriptional target of AHR as well as a modulator of its activity. Expression of HK2 is positively regulated by AHR upon exposure to agonists both in human cells and in mice lung tissues. Conversely, over-expression of HK2 regulates the abundance of many proteins involved in the regulation of AHR signalling and these changes are linked with altered AHR expression levels and transcriptional activity. HK2 expression also shows a negative correlation with AHR promoter methylation in tumours, and these tumours with high HK2 expression and low AHR methylation are associated with a worse overall survival in patients. In sum, our study provides novel insights into how AHR signalling is regulated which may help our understanding of the context-specific effects of this pathway and may have implications in cancer.
Project description:Macrophages that acquire an immunosuppressive phenotype are crucial for creating the pre-metastatic niche (PMN), which is essential for facilitating breast cancer metastasis to the distant organ. Our study showed that increased aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) activity in lung macrophages is vital for establishing the immunosuppressive PMN in breast cancer. AHR activation led to higher PD-L1 expression on macrophages through directly binding to the promoter of Pdl1, subsequently, promoting Treg cell differentiation in the PMN. Mice with Ahr conditional deletion in macrophages had reduced lung metastasis of breast cancer. The elevated AHR level in PMN macrophages was induced by GM-CSF released from breast cancer cells, which activated STAT5 and prevented AHR ubiquitination in macrophages. In breast cancer patients, the expression of AHR and PD-L1 correlated with Treg cell infiltration, and high AHR expression was associated with a poor prognosis. Our findings uncover a previously unknown cellular and molecular mechanism through which macrophages establish the lung PMN in breast cancer.
Project description:The aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator (ARNT) is a transcription factor present in immune cells as a long and short isoform, referred to as isoform 1 and 3, respectively. However, investigation into potential ARNT isoform-specific immune functions is lacking despite the well-established heterodimerization requirement of ARNT with, and for the activity of, the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), a critical mediator of immune homeostasis. Here, using global and targeted transcriptomics analyses we show that the relative ARNT isoform 1:3 ratio in human T cell lymphoma cells dictates the amplitude and direction of AhR target gene regulation. Specifically, shifting the ARNT isoform 1:3 ratio lower by suppressing isoform 1 enhances, or higher by suppressing isoform 3 abrogates AhR responsiveness to ligand activation through preprograming a cellular genetic background that directs explicit gene expression patterns. Moreover, the fluctuations in gene expression patterns that accompany a decrease or increase in the ARNT isoform 1:3 ratio are associated with inflammation or immunosuppression, respectively. Molecular studies identified the unique casein kinase 2 (CK2) phosphorylation site within isoform 1 as an essential parameter to the mechanism of ARNT isoform-specific regulation of AhR signaling. Notably, CK2-mediated phosphorylation of ARNT isoform 1 is dependent on ligand-induced AhR nuclear translocation and is required for optimal AhR target gene regulation. These observations reveal ARNT as a central modulator of AhR activity predicated on the status of the ARNT isoform ratio and suggest that ARNT-based therapies are a viable option for tuning the immune system to target immune disorders.