What does AHR stand for?

It's known that the chemical binds to the body's aryl hydrocarbon receptor, which is involved in a number of developmental pathways and processes, says Birnbaum.

For example, the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) has been the focus of extensive studies in environmental toxicology, and toxic effects of dioxin and dioxin-like compounds are mediated by activation of the AhR (Mandal 2005; Staples et al.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are toxic environmental pollutants, which indirectly act as anti-estrogens by activating the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR).

Using aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR)-based and estrogen receptor (ER)-based cell bioassay systems, we assessed the dioxin-like and estrogenic activities of gas-phase organic ambient air contaminants compared with those of particulate-phase contaminants using samples collected between seasons over 2 years from an urban and a rural location in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada.

For instance, the discovery of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) occurred as a direct result of the known toxicity of dioxin and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

Although mechanisms leading to these defects are poorly understood, it is widely held that PAH toxicity is linked to aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) binding and cytochrome P450 1A (CYP1A) induction.

The high-level expression of CYP1A1 in the Arctic beluga suggests that this species is highly sensitive to CYP1A1 induction by aryl hydrocarbon receptor agonists.

Furthermore, compounds such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which do not bind ERs, modulate estrogen activity by means of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR).