Abstract
The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is a ligand-activated receptor that regulates the metabolism of several xenobiotics and participates in ocular inflammation. Although severe inflammation is a major risk of retinal damage, the underlying mechanism is not well established. In this study, to elucidate how AHR mediates inflammation homeostasis, we hypothesized that AHR expression may diminish during long-term exposure to benzo [a] pyrene (B [a]P), a carcinogen in cigarette smoke. The blockage of AHR function considerably impaired suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3) negative feedback regulation and upregulated B [a]P-induced pro-inflammation. Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) was activated by B [a] P due to AHR dysfunction in human adult retinal pigment epithelial cells (ARPE-19). The STAT3-inducible element revealed higher activity in AHR knockout cells with B [a] P treatment, but not in wild type ARPE-19 cells. Moreover, AHR dysfunction led to STAT3 hypo-ubiquitination and changed the STAT3–SOCS3 interaction. Increased STAT3–SOCS3 complex during AHR dysfunction by B [a] P was suppressed by nifuroxazide in ARPE-19 cells. Furthermore, the in vivo results showed that STAT3 inhibition during AHR impairment by long-term B [a] P exposure preserved the retina thickness and reversed the visual function in male C57Bl/6 mice. Overall, long-term B [a] P exposure may attenuate AHR function, dysregulating the homeostasis of the SOCS3–STAT3 axis with intensive STAT3 activation. This finding is significant given that the disintegration of the AHR–SOCS3 axis is a sensitive factor involved in AMD-like lesion development in the retina, revealing that the low AHR level may be associated with cigarette smoking or xenobiotics exposure, causing retina inflammation and damage.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ajayi BO, Adedara IA, Farombi EO. Benzo(a) pyrene induces oxidative stress, pro-inflammatory cytokines, expression of nuclear factor-kappa B and deregulation of wnt/beta-catenin signaling in colons of BALB/c mice. Food Chem Toxicol. 2016;95:42–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2016.06.019.
Akira S. Roles of STAT3 defined by tissue-specific gene targeting. Oncogene. 2000;19(21):2607–11. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.onc.1203478.
Bazewicz M, Draganova D, Makhoul M, Chtarto A, Elmaleh V, Tenenbaum L, et al. Effect of SOCS1 overexpression on RPE cell activation by proinflammatory cytokines. Neurosci Lett. 2016;630:209–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neulet.2016.07.054.
Ben-Zvi T, Yayon A, Gertler A, Monsonego-Ornan E. Suppressors of cytokine signaling (SOCS) 1 and SOCS3 interact with and modulate fibroblast growth factor receptor signaling. J Cell Sci. 2006;119(Pt 2):380–7. https://doi.org/10.1242/jcs.02740.
Benson JM, Shepherd DM. Aryl hydrocarbon receptor activation by TCDD reduces inflammation associated with Crohn's disease. Toxicol Sci. 2011;120(1):68–78. https://doi.org/10.1093/toxsci/kfq360.
Brandstatter O, Schanz O, Vorac J, Konig J, Mori T, Maruyama T, et al. Balancing intestinal and systemic inflammation through cell type-specific expression of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor repressor. Sci Rep. 2016;6:26091. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep26091.
Chen M, Lechner J, Zhao J, Toth L, Hogg R, Silvestri G, et al. STAT3 activation in circulating monocytes contributes to Neovascular age-related macular degeneration. Curr Mol Med. 2016;16(4):412–23.
Chen X, Guan XJ, Peng XH, Cui ZL, Luan CY, Guo XJ. Acetylation of lysine 9 on histone H3 is associated with increased pro-inflammatory cytokine release in a cigarette smoke-induced rat model through HDAC1 depression. Inflamm Res. 2015;64(7):513–26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00011-015-0832-y.
Croker BA, Krebs DL, Zhang JG, Wormald S, Willson TA, Stanley EG, et al. SOCS3 negatively regulates IL-6 signaling in vivo. Nat Immunol. 2003;4(6):540–5. https://doi.org/10.1038/ni931.
Dallavalle C, Albino D, Civenni G, Merulla J, Ostano P, Mello-Grand M, et al. MicroRNA-424 impairs ubiquitination to activate STAT3 and promote prostate tumor progression. J Clin Invest. 2016;126(12):4585–602. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI86505.
Di Meglio P, Duarte JH, Ahlfors H, Owens ND, Li Y, Villanova F, et al. Activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor dampens the severity of inflammatory skin conditions. Immunity. 2014;40(6):989–1001. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2014.04.019.
Do KN, Fink LN, Jensen TE, Gautier L, Parlesak A. TLR2 controls intestinal carcinogen detoxication by CYP1A1. PLoS One. 2012;7(3):e32309. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0032309.
Dunn KC, Aotaki-Keen AE, Putkey FR, Hjelmeland LM. ARPE-19, a human retinal pigment epithelial cell line with differentiated properties. Exp Eye Res. 1996;62(2):155–69. https://doi.org/10.1006/exer.1996.0020.
Durham GA, Williams JJL, Nasim MT, Palmer TM. Targeting SOCS proteins to control JAK-STAT Signalling in disease. Trends Pharmacol Sci. 2019;40(5):298–308. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tips.2019.03.001.
Estrago-Franco MF, Moustafa MT, Riazi-Esfahani M, Sapkal AU, Piche-Lopez R, Patil AJ, et al. Effects of Benzo(e) pyrene on reactive oxygen/nitrogen species and inflammatory cytokines induction in human RPE cells and attenuation by mitochondrial-involved mechanism. J Ophthalmic Vis Res. 2016;11(4):385–93. https://doi.org/10.4103/2008-322X.194091.
Farmahin R, Crump D, O'Brien JM, Jones SP, Kennedy SW. Time-dependent transcriptomic and biochemical responses of 6-formylindolo[3,2-b] carbazole (FICZ) and 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) are explained by AHR activation time. Biochem Pharmacol. 2016;115:134–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bcp.2016.06.005.
Hu P, Herrmann R, Bednar A, Saloupis P, Dwyer MA, Yang P, et al. Aryl hydrocarbon receptor deficiency causes dysregulated cellular matrix metabolism and age-related macular degeneration-like pathology. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013;110(43):E4069–78. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1307574110.
Huang C, Wang JJ, Jing G, Li J, Jin C, Yu Q, et al. Erp29 attenuates cigarette smoke extract-induced endoplasmic reticulum stress and mitigates tight junction damage in retinal pigment epithelial cells. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2015;56(11):6196–207. https://doi.org/10.1167/iovs.15-16795.
Hunter CA, Jones SA. Corrigendum: IL-6 as a keystone cytokine in health and disease. Nat Immunol. 2017;18(11):1271. https://doi.org/10.1038/ni1117-1271b.
Hwang WB, Kim DJ, Oh GS, Park JH. Aryl hydrocarbon receptor ligands Indoxyl 3-sulfate and Indole-3-carbinol inhibit FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 ligand-induced bone marrow-derived plasmacytoid dendritic cell differentiation. Immune Netw. 2018;18(5):e35. https://doi.org/10.4110/in.2018.18.e35.
Johnson DE, O'Keefe RA, Grandis JR. Targeting the IL-6/JAK/STAT3 signalling axis in cancer. Nat Rev Clin Oncol. 2018;15(4):234–48. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2018.8.
Jonas JB, Tao Y, Neumaier M, Findeisen P. Monocyte chemoattractant protein 1, intercellular adhesion molecule 1, and vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 in exudative age-related macular degeneration. Arch Ophthalmol. 2010;128(10):1281–6. https://doi.org/10.1001/archophthalmol.2010.227.
Kado S, Chang WLW, Chi AN, Wolny M, Shepherd DM, Vogel CFA. Aryl hydrocarbon receptor signaling modifies toll-like receptor-regulated responses in human dendritic cells. Arch Toxicol. 2017;91(5):2209–21. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-016-1880-y.
Kim SY, Yang HJ, Chang YS, Kim JW, Brooks M, Chew EY, et al. Deletion of aryl hydrocarbon receptor AHR in mice leads to subretinal accumulation of microglia and RPE atrophy. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2014;55(9):6031–40. https://doi.org/10.1167/iovs.14-15091.
Larigot L, Juricek L, Dairou J, Coumoul X. AhR signaling pathways and regulatory functions. Biochim Open. 2018;7:1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopen.2018.05.001.
Li CH, Liao PL, Shyu MK, Liu CW, Kao CC, Huang SH, et al. Zinc oxide nanoparticles-induced intercellular adhesion molecule 1 expression requires Rac1/Cdc42, mixed lineage kinase 3, and c-Jun N-terminal kinase activation in endothelial cells. Toxicol Sci. 2012;126(1):162–72. https://doi.org/10.1093/toxsci/kfr331.
Lin CH, Liao PL, Hsiao G, Li CH, Huang SH, Tsai CH, et al. Long-term Fluorometholone topical use induces ganglion cell damage in rats analyzed with optical coherence tomography. Toxicol Sci. 2015;147(2):317–25. https://doi.org/10.1093/toxsci/kfv132.
Lin CH, Wu MR, Li CH, Cheng HW, Huang SH, Tsai CH, et al. Editor's highlight: periodic exposure to smartphone-mimic low-luminance blue light induces retina damage through Bcl-2/BAX-dependent apoptosis. Toxicol Sci. 2017;157(1):196–210. https://doi.org/10.1093/toxsci/kfx030.
Lueck K, Busch M, Moss SE, Greenwood J, Kasper M, Lommatzsch A, et al. Complement stimulates retinal pigment epithelial cells to undergo pro-inflammatory changes. Ophthalmic Res. 2015;54(4):195–203. https://doi.org/10.1159/000439596.
Maisto R, Oltra M, Vidal-Gil L, Martinez-Gil N, Sancho-Pelluz J, Filippo CD, et al. ARPE-19-derived VEGF-containing exosomes promote neovascularization in HUVEC: the role of the melanocortin receptor 5. Cell Cycle. 2019;18(4):413–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/15384101.2019.1568745.
Mohinta S, Kannan AK, Gowda K, Amin SG, Perdew GH, August A. Differential regulation of Th17 and T regulatory cell differentiation by aryl hydrocarbon receptor dependent xenobiotic response element dependent and independent pathways. Toxicol Sci. 2015;145(2):233–43. https://doi.org/10.1093/toxsci/kfv046.
Mohr LK, Hoffmann AV, Brandstetter C, Holz FG, Krohne TU. Effects of Inflammasome activation on secretion of inflammatory cytokines and vascular endothelial growth factor by retinal pigment epithelial cells. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2015;56(11):6404–13. https://doi.org/10.1167/iovs.15-16898.
Nguyen CH, Nakahama T, Dang TT, Chu HH, Van Hoang L, Kishimoto T, et al. Expression of aryl hydrocarbon receptor, inflammatory cytokines, and incidence of rheumatoid arthritis in Vietnamese dioxin-exposed people. J Immunotoxicol. 2017;14(1):196–203. https://doi.org/10.1080/1547691X.2017.1377323.
O'Driscoll CA, Gallo ME, Hoffmann EJ, Fechner JH, Schauer JJ, Bradfield CA, et al. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) present in ambient urban dust drive proinflammatory T cell and dendritic cell responses via the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) in vitro. PLoS One. 2018;13(12):e0209690. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0209690.
Orabona C, Pallotta MT, Volpi C, Fallarino F, Vacca C, Bianchi R, et al. SOCS3 drives proteasomal degradation of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) and antagonizes IDO-dependent tolerogenesis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008;105(52):20828–33. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0810278105.
Pallotta MT, Fallarino F, Matino D, Macchiarulo A, Orabona C. AhR-mediated, non-genomic modulation of IDO1 function. Front Immunol. 2014;5:497. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2014.00497.
Patel AK, Newcomb CW, Liesegang TL, Pujari SS, Suhler EB, Thorne JE, et al. Risk of retinal neovascularization in cases of uveitis. Ophthalmology. 2016;123(3):646–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ophtha.2015.10.056.
Patel AK, Syeda S, Hackam AS. Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling in retinal pigment epithelium cells. JAKSTAT. 2013;2(4):e25434. https://doi.org/10.4161/jkst.25434.
Prendergast GC, Mondal A, Dey S, Laury-Kleintop LD, Muller AJ. Inflammatory reprogramming with IDO1 inhibitors: turning immunologically unresponsive 'Cold' tumors 'Hot'. Trends Cancer. 2018;4(1):38–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trecan.2017.11.005.
Rim TH, Cheng CY, Kim DW, Kim SS, Wong TY. A nationwide cohort study of cigarette smoking and risk of neovascular age-related macular degeneration in east Asian men. Br J Ophthalmol. 2017;101(10):1367–73. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjophthalmol-2016-309952.
Said E, Zaitone SA, Eldosoky M, Elsherbiny NM. Nifuroxazide, a STAT3 inhibitor, mitigates inflammatory burden and protects against diabetes-induced nephropathy in rats. Chem Biol Interact. 2018;281:111–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbi.2017.12.030.
Sasaki A, Yasukawa H, Suzuki A, Kamizono S, Syoda T, Kinjyo I, et al. Cytokine-inducible SH2 protein-3 (CIS3/SOCS3) inhibits Janus tyrosine kinase by binding through the N-terminal kinase inhibitory region as well as SH2 domain. Genes Cells. 1999;4(6):339–51.
Shi Q, Haenen GR, Maas L, Arlt VM, Spina D, Vasquez YR, et al. Inflammation-associated extracellular beta-glucuronidase alters cellular responses to the chemical carcinogen benzo [a]pyrene. Arch Toxicol. 2016;90(9):2261–73. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-015-1593-7.
Sun Y, Lin Z, Liu CH, Gong Y, Liegl R, Fredrick TW, et al. Inflammatory signals from photoreceptor modulate pathological retinal angiogenesis via c-Fos. J Exp Med. 2017;214(6):1753–67. https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.20161645.
Tian B, Al-Moujahed A, Bouzika P, Hu Y, Notomi S, Tsoka P, et al. Atorvastatin promotes phagocytosis and attenuates pro-inflammatory response in human retinal pigment epithelial cells. Sci Rep. 2017;7(1):2329. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-02407-7.
Tsai CH, Li CH, Cheng YW, Lee CC, Liao PL, Lin CH, et al. The inhibition of lung cancer cell migration by AhR-regulated autophagy. Sci Rep. 2017;7:41927. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep41927.
Tsai CH, Li CH, Liao PL, Cheng YW, Lin CH, Huang SH, et al. NcoA2-dependent inhibition of HIF-1alpha activation is regulated via AhR. Toxicol Sci. 2015;148(2):517–30. https://doi.org/10.1093/toxsci/kfv199.
Vujosevic S, Micera A, Bini S, Berton M, Esposito G, Midena E. Proteome analysis of retinal glia cells-related inflammatory cytokines in the aqueous humour of diabetic patients. Acta Ophthalmol. 2016;94(1):56–64. https://doi.org/10.1111/aos.12812.
Wada T, Sunaga H, Miyata K, Shirasaki H, Uchiyama Y, Shimba S. Aryl hydrocarbon receptor plays protective roles against high fat diet (HFD)-induced hepatic Steatosis and the subsequent lipotoxicity via direct transcriptional regulation of Socs3 gene expression. J Biol Chem. 2016;291(13):7004–16. https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M115.693655.
Wei J, Yuan Y, Jin C, Chen H, Leng L, He F, et al. The ubiquitin ligase TRAF6 negatively regulates the JAK-STAT signaling pathway by binding to STAT3 and mediating its ubiquitination. PLoS One. 2012;7(11):e49567. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0049567.
Williams JJ, Munro KM, Palmer TM. Role of Ubiquitylation in controlling suppressor of cytokine Signalling 3 (SOCS3) function and expression. Cells. 2014;3(2):546–62. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells3020546.
Williams JJL, Alotaiq N, Mullen W, Burchmore R, Liu L, Baillie GS, et al. Interaction of suppressor of cytokine signalling 3 with cavin-1 links SOCS3 function and cavin-1 stability. Nat Commun. 2018;9(1):168. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-02585-y.
Wong YQ, Xu H, Wu Q, Liu X, Lufei C, Xu XQ, et al. STAT3-inducible mouse ESCs: a model to study the role of STAT3 in ESC maintenance and lineage differentiation. Stem Cells Int. 2018;2018:8632950. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/8632950.
Xie Z, Liang H. Association between diabetic retinopathy in type 2 diabetes and the ICAM-1 rs5498 polymorphism: a meta-analysis of case-control studies. BMC Ophthalmol. 2018;18(1):297. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12886-018-0961-5.
Yan C, Cao J, Wu M, Zhang W, Jiang T, Yoshimura A, et al. Suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 inhibits LPS-induced IL-6 expression in osteoblasts by suppressing CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein {beta} activity. J Biol Chem. 2010;285(48):37227–39. https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M110.132084.
Yasukawa H, Ohishi M, Mori H, Murakami M, Chinen T, Aki D, et al. IL-6 induces an anti-inflammatory response in the absence of SOCS3 in macrophages. Nat Immunol. 2003;4(6):551–6. https://doi.org/10.1038/ni938.
Yeste A, Mascanfroni ID, Nadeau M, Burns EJ, Tukpah AM, Santiago A, et al. IL-21 induces IL-22 production in CD4+ T cells. Nat Commun. 2014;5:3753. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms4753.
Yuan X, Dou Y, Wu X, Wei Z, Dai Y. Tetrandrine, an agonist of aryl hydrocarbon receptor, reciprocally modulates the activities of STAT3 and STAT5 to suppress Th17 cell differentiation. J Cell Mol Med. 2017;21(9):2172–83. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcmm.13141.
Zinflou C, Rochette PJ. Absorption of blue light by cigarette smoke components is highly toxic for retinal pigmented epithelial cells. Arch Toxicol. 2019;93(2):453–65. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-018-2344-3.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Editage for their assistance of language editing. This study was funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan [grant numbers MOST 105-2320-B-010 -042 -MY3].
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Ethics declarations
Ethical approval
All animal procedures were approved by the Animal Care Committee of the National Taiwan University, College of Medicine (IACUC’s number: 20150376) and conducted in accordance with guidelines of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) statement for the use of animals in ophthalmic and vision research.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Electronic supplementary material
ESM 1
(DOCX 1.08 MB)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tsai, CH., Lee, Y., Li, CH. et al. Down-regulation of aryl hydrocarbon receptor intensifies carcinogen-induced retinal lesion via SOCS3-STAT3 signaling. Cell Biol Toxicol 36, 223–242 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10565-019-09499-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10565-019-09499-z