Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), a type of transcriptional factor, is widely expressed in immune cells. The activation of AhR signaling pathway depends on its ligands, which exist in environment and can also be produced by metabolism. Normal expressions of AhR and AhR-mediated signaling may be essential for immune responses, and effects of AhR signaling on the development and function of innate and adaptive immune cells have also been revealed in previous studies. Recent studies also indicate that aberrant AhR signaling may be related to autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), multiple sclerosis (MS), autoimmune uveitis (AU), autoimmune diabetes, Behcet’s disease (BD) and myasthenia gravis (MG). Moreover, administration of AhR ligands or drugs has been proven effective for improving pathological outcomes in some autoimmune diseases or models. In this review, we summarize the effects of AhR on several innate and adaptive immune cells associated with autoimmunity, and the mechanism on how AhR participates in autoimmune diseases. In addition, we also discuss therapeutic potential and application prospect of AhR in autoimmune diseases, so as to provide valuable information for exploring novel and effective approaches to autoimmune disease treatments.

中文翻译：

---

芳烃受体在自身免疫中的治疗潜力。

芳烃受体（AhR）是一种转录因子，在免疫细胞中广泛表达。AhR信号通路的激活取决于其配体，该配体存在于环境中，也可以通过代谢产生。AhR和AhR介导的信号转导的正常表达可能是免疫反应必不可少的，并且在先前的研究中也已经揭示了AhR信号转导对先天和适应性免疫细胞的发育和功能的影响。最近的研究还表明，异常的AhR信号可能与自身免疫疾病有关，包括类风湿性关节炎（RA），系统性红斑狼疮（SLE），多发性硬化症（MS），自身免疫性葡萄膜炎（AU），自身免疫性糖尿病，白塞氏病（BD）和重症肌无力（MG）。此外，已证明，在某些自身免疫性疾病或模型中，使用AhR配体或药物可有效改善病理结果。在这篇综述中，我们总结了AhR对几种与自身免疫相关的先天性和适应性免疫细胞的影响，以及AhR如何参与自身免疫疾病的机制。此外，我们还探讨了AhR在自身免疫性疾病中的治疗潜力和应用前景，从而为探索新颖有效的自身免疫性疾病治疗方法提供有价值的信息。