Defective binding of 3-methylcholanthrene to the Ah receptor within C3H/1OT1/2 clone 8 mouse fibroblasts in culture

Light Sensing beyond Vision: Focusing on a Possible Role for the FICZ/AhR Complex in Skin Optotransduction

Although our skin is not the primary visual organ in humans, it acts as a light sensor, playing a significant role in maintaining our health and overall well-being. Thanks to the presence of a complex and sophisticated optotransduction system, the skin interacts with the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum and with ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Following a brief overview describing the main photosensitive molecules that detect specific electromagnetic radiation and their associated cell pathways, we analyze their impact on physiological functions such as melanogenesis, immune response, circadian rhythms, and mood regulation. In this paper, we focus on 6-formylindolo[3,2-b]carbazole (FICZ), a photo oxidation derivative of the essential amino acid tryptophan (Trp). This molecule is the best endogenous agonist of the Aryl hydrocarbon Receptor (AhR), an evolutionarily conserved transcription factor, traditionally recognized as a signal transducer of both exogenous and endogenous chemical signals. Increasing evidence indicates that AhR is also involved in light sensing within the skin, primarily due to its ligand FICZ, which acts as both a chromophore and a photosensitizer. The biochemical reactions triggered by their interaction impact diverse functions and convey crucial data to our body, thus adding a piece to the complex puzzle of pathways that allow us to decode and elaborate environmental stimuli.

cDNA cloning, sequence analysis, and induction by aryl hydrocarbons of a murine cytochrome P450 gene, Cyp1b1

C3H mouse embryo fibroblast cells, designated 10T1/2, can be transformed by physical and chemical agents including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. In a previous report (Shen et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90, 11483-11487, 1993), we identified a cytochrome P450 gene induced by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that is different from 1A1 or 1A2, and which we tentatively named P450CMEF. Here, we report the entire cDNA sequence of P450CMEF (5,128 bp) and the amino acid sequence deduced from it (543 residues). A comparison of the latter sequence with known cytochrome P450s indicates that P450CMEF is in a new subfamily of family 1 of the P450 superfamily. Accordingly, the Committee on Standardized Cytochrome P450 Nomenclature designated the gene Cyp1b1. Exposure to various aryl hydrocarbons (2.5 hr) induced Cyp1b1 mRNA in 10T1/2 cells to different degrees: 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene, benz[a]anthracene, benzo[a]pyrene, and beta-naphthoflavone were strong inducers; alpha-naphthoflavone and 3-methylcholanthrene, were moderate inducers; and benzo[e]pyrene was a weak inducer.

Identification of a cytochrome P450 gene by reverse transcription--PCR using degenerate primers containing inosine

A cytochrome P450-like gene, tentatively named P450CMEF, was amplified by a mixed oligonucleotide-primed amplification of cDNA from C3H mouse embryo fibroblast cells, designated 10T1/2, that had been treated with 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) or benz[a]anthracene (BA). A set of inosine-containing degenerate primers that were targeted to two conserved regions of known cytochrome P450 cDNAs were used. One primer was coded for the well-described and conserved heme-binding region of P450 enzymes, and the second was designed based upon other considerations of homology among P450 molecules. One of the four PCR-amplified cDNA products hybridized to two major RNA bands, 4.2 and 5.3 kb, that were induced by DMBA or BA. The amino acid sequence of the fragment deduced from the base-sequence data indicate that the amplified cDNA has a 50-55% identity with the cytochrome P450 subfamily 1A. The induction of P450CMEF mRNA preceded the induction of aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase activity after DMBA or BA treatment, suggesting that the product of P450CMEF is involved in the metabolism of these polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in 10T1/2 cells. From the partial sequence of the cDNA identified by this procedure, we propose that P450CMEF is a member of the P450 superfamily, possibly in a subfamily of family 1, that is induced in 10T1/2 cells by DMBA and BA. This method should be useful in identifying additional P450 genes and genes in other gene families.

The 4-5S carcinogen binding protein binds 1-aminopyrene, 1-nitropyrene and (+)-benzo[a]pyrenediolepoxide and is found in 12 tissues of the DBA/2J mouse

Twelve tissues from the BDA/2J mouse were examined in order to assess the tissue distribution of a soluble 4-5S carcinogen binding protein (CBP). The CBP binds numerous polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, regulates the expression of cytochrome P-450c and is a carrier protein of carcinogen metabolites. The highest specific binding was found in hepatic tissue (600 fmol per mg protein). The amount of CBP in the kidney and testis was about 60% of the value observed for the liver. Lower levels of CBP were observed in the reproductive tract (uterus and vagina), spleen, stomach, heart, urinary bladder, skin, large and small intestine and lung. It was shown that the CBP bound the environmental carcinogen 1-nitropyrene, its reduced metabolite 1-aminopyrene and the ultimate carcinogenic metabolite of benzo[a]pyrene or (+)-r-7,t-8-dihydroxy-t-9,10-epoxy-7,8,9, 10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene but not the smaller coplanar PCB molecule, 3,3',4,4'-tetrachlorobiphenyl. The results suggest that (a) the CBP is not a tissue-specific protein in the mouse, (b) the ligands for the CBP are not limited to the unmetabolized procarcinogens but include both positively and negatively charged ligands, and (c) in vitro the CBP covalently binds the ultimate carcinogenic metabolite of benzo[a]pyrene.

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Binding Macromolecules. Identification, Characterization and Temperature Activation of a 4.5 S Binding Nucleoprotein

A macromolecule binding3H-methyIcholanthrene (3H-MCA) and3H-benzo(a)pyrene (3H-BaP) and sedimenting in the 4-5 S region of sucrose gradient (4.5 S) was identified in rat liver cytosol. The binding was displaced by 100-fold molar excess unlabeled ligands whereas 2,3,7,8-tetrachloro-dibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) was ineffective. The dissociation constant for both polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was of the order of 10−3M or lower. Both3H-MCA and3H-BaP bound to 4.5 S in a non covalent manner, since 92 % of the bound radioactivity was extractable with ethyl ether. Furthermore the binding was stronghly reduced by urea 8 M and by guanidine. HCl 4 M (99 and 70 % respectively). Thin layer chromatography of the ehtyl ether-solubilized radioactivity showed a peak comigrating with PAHs used as standards. When chromatographed on Sephadex G-200, 4.5 S was eluted as a sharp peak with an apparent molecular weight of 50-60,000 daltons. Enzyme treatment of liver cytosol showed that the 4.5 S binding sites were destroyed by micrococcal nuclease (92 % of inhibition). Papain and phosphodiesterase I and II reduced the binding to 50 %, whereas DNase I, DNase II, RNase, phospholipase A2andC and trypsin were ineffective. These data suggest that the PAHs binding macromolecule of rat liver cytosol is a protein associated with a polynucleotide. The binding of both PAHs was enhanced by increasing the incubation temperature, the maximum being reached after 20-30 min at 37 °C. After 2.5 min at 65 °C, binding sites were completely destroyed. The same temperature-induced « activation » was obtained also by prewarming the cytosol at 37 °C in the absence of ligands.

A hydroxylapatite microassay for receptor binding of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin and 3-methylcholanthrene in various target tissues

A "batch" hydroxylapatite assay for the 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) receptor that does not require detergents is described. The receptor could be assayed in rat target tissues using either of the cytochrome P1-450 inducers [3H]TCDD or [3H]3-methylcholanthrene as radioligands. A phosphate buffer washing procedure was developed on the basis of chromatographic data and optimized to separate nonspecifically and specifically bound ligand. The assay was characterized with respect to washing efficiency, binding specificity, competition, adsorption time, amount of hydroxylapatite required to bind receptor complexes, sensitivity, and effects of detergents. Equilibrium binding parameters were determined. Receptor extracted with phosphate from hydroxylapatite was analyzed on sucrose gradients and was found to exhibit the same sedimentation properties as the receptor in crude cytosol. Furthermore, the applicability of the assay has been demonstrated in cytosolic preparations from three different target tissues: liver, lung, and thymus.

Analysis of Ah gene locus by somatic cell hybridization: expression of Ah regulatory gene product for 2,3,7,8,-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin in mouse L-cell x mouse hepatoma cell hybrids

Properties of the aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH) enzyme system were examined in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) -noninducible L-cell x PAH-inducible hepatoma (Hepa) mouse cell hybrids. In hybrids, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) induces AHH activity. The levels of maximal TCDD-induced AHH activity in the hybrids and the Hepa parent are similar, although a greater concentration of TCDD is required for expression in the hybrids. This concentration difference appears to reflect dilution of AHH-associated gene products by the L-cell parent rather than altered gene expression. The regulatory gene product, the Ah receptor, is expressed similarly in the hybrids and Hepa parent. Both demonstrate specific, high-affinity binding of [3H]TCDD to an equivalent number of receptor sites per cell. These results suggest that the molecular mechanism of phenotypic resemblance to the inducible Hepa parent (i.e., "dominance") in the mouse L-cell x Hepa hybrids involves expression of only the Hepa Ah gene complex.