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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 Jul 25.
Published in final edited form as: Chem Biol Interact. 2014 May 10;0:82–88. doi: 10.1016/j.cbi.2014.05.001

Figure 2. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) signaling pathway.

Figure 2

In its quiescent state, the AhR is bound to various repressive factors in the cytoplasm. Ligand (L) binding to the AhR activates the AhR and induces a conformational change which exposes a nuclear localization signal. After nuclear translocation, the AhR dimerizes with ARNT. The AhR: ARNT transcription factor complex binds to XRE sequences in target gene promoters. Interaction with multiple transcriptional coactivators is necessary to induce transcription. GTF: general transcription factors; hsp90: heat shock protein 90; PolII: RNA polymerase II; p23: prostaglandin E synthase 3/ hsp90 co-chaperone; TBP: TATA-box-binding protein; XAP2: AH receptor-interacting protein/ hepatitis B virus X-associated protein 2; XRE: xenobiotic response element.