The aryl hydrocarbon receptor promotes inflammation-induced dedifferentiation and systemic metastatic spread of melanoma cells
Source: MDLinx, August 2020
Since the precise role of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) in melanoma is mostly unclear, researchers reported a functional effect of AHR activation on inflammation-induced melanoma cell dedifferentiation and the development of lung metastases in a mouse model.
Via in silico analyses of the “The Cancer Genome Atlas” human melanoma cohort, they detected a link between AHR expression levels and a dedifferentiated melanoma cell phenotype with an invasive gene signature, which were able to functionally recapitulate in a panel of human melanoma cell lines.
The outcomes show a functional role for AhR expression in melanoma development and metastatic progression.
