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1: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Jul 15;105(28):9721-6. Epub 2008 Jul 7.
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Aryl hydrocarbon receptor regulates Stat1 activation and participates in the development of Th17 cells.

Kimura A, Naka T, Nohara K, Fujii-Kuriyama Y, Kishimoto T.

Laboratory of Immune Regulation, Osaka University Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, 1-3, Yamada-oka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.

IL-17-producing T helper cells (Th17) have been recently identified as a previously undescribed subset of helper T cells. Here, we demonstrate that aryl hydrocarbon receptor (Ahr) has an important regulatory function in the commitment of Th17 cells. Ahr was robustly induced under Th17-polarizing conditions. Ahr-deficient naïve T cells showed a considerable loss in the ability to differentiate into Th17 cells when induced by TGF-beta plus IL-6. We were able to demonstrate that Ahr interacts with Stat1 and Stat5, which negatively regulate Th17 development. Whereas Stat1 activation returned to its basal level in Ahr wild type naïve T cells 24 h after stimulation with TGF-beta plus IL-6, Stat1 remained activated in Ahr-deficient naïve T cells after stimulation. These results indicate that Ahr participates in Th17 cell differentiation through regulating Stat1 activation, a finding that constitutes additional mechanisms in the modulation of Th17 cell development.

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PMID: 18607004 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

PMCID: PMC2474493 [Available on 2009/01/15]