Contributions of the Ah receptor to bilirubin homeostasis and its antioxidative and atheroprotective functions
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Karl Walter Bock
Abstract
The homeostasis and atheroprotective function of bilirubin could be an appealing model to investigate one of the many physiologic functions of the human aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR). Several clinical and epidemiological studies have been carried out on key enzymes generating and eliminating bilirubin (heme oxygenase-1 and UDP-glucuronosyltransferase UGT1A1, respectively) and their regulation by the AhR. Studies with AhR-deficient mice strongly suggest a role of the AhR in vascular biology. Atherosclerosis, a major cause of premature death, is initiated by pro-oxidative insults of the vascular endothelium. The strong antioxidant and activator of AhR bilirubin is generated in vascular endothelial cells, smooth muscles and macrophages. It acts mostly in the lipid environment, thereby complementing other antioxidants such as glutathione which act mostly on water-soluble proteins. In conclusion, the atheroprotective functions of bilirubin might not only provide models to study physiologic functions of the human AhR but also provide opportunities to improve prevention and treatment of a major life-threatening disease.
©2010 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin New York
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Artikel in diesem Heft
- Guest Editorial
- Highlight: Molecular Neurobiology
- HIGHLIGHT: MOLECULAR NEUROBIOLOGY
- Actin-mediated gene expression in neurons: the MRTF-SRF connection
- RIM proteins and their role in synapse function
- Brain tumor stem cells
- The mitochondria permeability transition pore complex in the brain with interacting proteins – promising targets for protection in neurodegenerative diseases
- Involvement of the calcium sensor GCAP1 in hereditary cone dystrophies
- Live cell imaging of cytoskeletal dynamics in neurons using fluorescence photoactivation
- REVIEWS
- Contributions of the Ah receptor to bilirubin homeostasis and its antioxidative and atheroprotective functions
- Cathepsin L in metastatic bone disease: therapeutic implications
- GENES AND NUCLEIC ACIDS
- Activity-based selection of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase variants with decreased polymerization fidelity
- CELL BIOLOGY AND SIGNALING
- Multiple protective functions of catalase against intercellular apoptosis-inducing ROS signaling of human tumor cells
- Molecular characterisation of ‘transmembrane protein 192’ (TMEM192), a novel protein of the lysosomal membrane
- PROTEOLYSIS
- Functional study of elafin cleaved by Pseudomonas aeruginosa metalloproteinases
