cDNA cloning and characterization of a high affinity aryl hydrocarbon receptor in a cetacean, the beluga, Delphinapterus leucas. Toxicol Sci 64

• Main Authors: Brenda A. Jensen, Mark E. Hahn
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2001
• Subjects: Beluga; Beluga whale; Beluga*; Delphinapterus leucas
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.321.8226; http://toxsci.oxfordjournals.org/content/64/1/41.full.pdf

Some cetaceans bioaccumulate substantial concentrations of planar halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons (PHAHs) in their tissues, but little is known about the effects of such burdens on cetacean health. 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) and related PHAHs cause toxicity via activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), a member of the bHLH-PAS family of transcription factors. Differences in AHR structure and function are known to contribute to species-specific differences in susceptibility to PHAH toxicity. To ascertain the potential for PHAH effects in a cetacean, we characterized an AHR from the beluga whale, Delphinapterus leucas. The 3.2 kb cDNA encodes an 845-amino acid protein with a predicted size of 95.5 kDa. Overall, the beluga AHR shares 85 % amino acid sequence identity with the human AHR and 75 % identity with the mouse AHR Ah b–1 allele. Beluga AHR protein synthesized in a rabbit reticulocyte lysate system