Human arylhydrocarbon receptor: functional expression and chromosomal assignment to 7p21

Abstract

We isolated the human arylhydrocarbon receptor (AhR) cDNA from a human lung cDNA library, by using mouse AhR cDNA as a labeled probe. The nucleotide sequence of cloned human AhR cDNA is identical to the previously reported human AhR sequence [Dolwick et al. (1993), Mol. Pharmacol. 44, 911-917] from cell line HepG2. The overall amino acid identity with mouse AhR from cell line Hepa-1 is 72.5%. The human AhR expressed either in COS-7 cells or in a reticulocyte lysate in vitro translation system showed specific dioxin-binding activity and Arnt-dependent DNA-binding activity. Chromosomal localization of the AhR gene was determined to be chromosome 7p21 by fluorescent in situ hybridization and DNA blot hybridization using 23 human x mouse or Chinese hamster hybrid cell DNAs.