芳香烃受体与乳腺癌

Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor and Breast Cancer

芳香烃受体(AhR)是一种配体激活转录因子,可介导多环芳烃类化合物的毒性反应(包括致癌性),还参与一些重要的生物学过程,如信号转导、细胞分化、细胞凋亡等。近年来的研究发现,芳香烃受体在乳腺癌的发生发展中可能通过多种途径起促进作用,其中AhR与ER的抑制性交互应答可能解释为什么化学致癌物为主导致的乳腺癌仍为激素敏感性乳腺癌。以AhR为靶点治疗乳腺癌的实验研究为临床试用提供了依据。

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor （AhR） is a ligand-activated transcription factor, which mediates the activity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons （PAHs） and is involved in some important biological processes, such as signal transduction, cell differentiation and apoptosis. Recent researches showed that AhR might promote the development of breast cancer via a variety of approaches and the inhibitory AhR-ER cross-talk may explain why the breast cancer caused by chemical carcinogens is still ER-positive. The investigations about AhR-targeted treatment of breast cancer affords foundations for further clinical trial.