AhR调控炎性细胞因子的研究进展

Research progress in regulation of aryl hydrocarbon receptor on inflammatory cytokines

芳香烃受体(aryl hydrocarbon receptor,AhR)是一种配体激活的转录因子,对环境中毒物和异物质代谢、机体免疫调节具有重要作用。炎性细胞因子是由多种细胞合成、分泌的一类小分子蛋白质,介导各阶段的炎症和免疫反应。不同配体活化的和未被活化的AhR能够通过不同方式调控多种炎性细胞因子的表达,深入研究调控的机理及信号通路有助于进一步阐明异物质代谢和炎症反应的机制。本文将重点论述AhR调控炎性细胞因子IL-6、TNF-α、IL-1β及炎性趋化因子的研究进展。

Aryl hydrocarbon receptor （AhR）, a ligand-activated transcription factor, plays an important role in toxicity, xenobiotic detoxification and immunomodulation. Inflammatory cytokines are a kind of small molecular proteins, produced and secreted by many cell types, which regulate many molecules in the inflammation and immune response. The different ligand-activated and unactivated AhR have an effect on the expression of inflammatory cytokines by different pathways. Therefore, the investigation of the relationship between AhR and inflammatory cytokines would illustrate a new mechanism of xenobiotic detoxification and inflammation response. In this paper, we review the regulation and mechanism of AhR on IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β and inflammatory chemokines.