| Description | Purified anti-Ahr. The Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is a member of the basic helix–loop–helix–PER– ARNT–SIM (bHLH–PAS) subgroup of the bHLH superfamily of transcription factors and is the only member of this family known to be activated by ligands. Those ligands can be endogenous, naturally occurring, and/or anthropogenic. In vitro studies and gene expression profiles showed that the transcriptional changes by the activated Ahr are ligand specific and are highly cell specific. There is only one ligand binding pocket in the AHR (in the Per-ARNT-Sim-B domain), and the affinity of the best characterized high affinity ligand, TCDD (2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-pdioxin), depends on only a few amino acids in that pocket. The Ahr can also be activated by numerous stress factors and substances that may not fit into the binding pocket, such as hyperoxia, oxidized low-density lipoproteins, hydrogen peroxide, ozone, and metals. Ahr regulates genes involved in a wide variety of biochemical pathways, including energy metabolism, lipid and cholesterol synthesis, xenobiotic metabolism and various transporters. The Ahr is well known to be involved in a variety of cellular processes, such as the cell cycle, epithelial barrier function, cell migration, and immune function. |
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