The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) has been known primarily for its role in the regulation of several drug and xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes to mitigate environmental stresses. In this study, we interfere the expression of AhR gene to investigate the mechanism of AhR signaling pathway in the detoxification and antioxidation defense system that induced by Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) exposure by RNA interference (RNAi). The gene expressions of aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator (ARNT), heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) were evaluated after being exposed to benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) (4 μg/L) for 5 days and the positive correlations between AhR, ARNT, HSP90 indirectly indicating that AhR may have the ability to bind to ligands such as PAHs in Ruditapes philippinarum (R. philippinarum). Besides, the activities of detoxification enzymes were determined to investigate the role of AhR signaling pathway played in the metabolic detoxification. What's more, the gene expressions of protein kinase C (PKC) signaling pathway, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPKs) signaling pathway, NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) signaling pathway and antioxidant defense system indicated that AhR may regulate the Nrf2-Keap1 signaling pathway through Kelch-like ECH-associated protein-1 (Keap1) and MAPKs, PKC signaling pathways. In conclusion, adoption of RNA interference technology to explore the role of RpAhR gene played in the detoxification and antioxidation defense system under the PAHs stress at different time points can informe molecular endpoints for application towards ecotoxicology monitoring of bivalves.

中文翻译：

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AhR-ARNT-XREs信号通路在菲律宾蛤仔多环芳烃（PAHs）诱导的排毒反应中的分子机制。

芳烃受体（AhR）主要因其在调节几种药物和异种生物代谢酶以减轻环境压力方面的作用而闻名。在这项研究中，我们干扰AhR基因的表达，以研究AhR信号通路在RNA干扰（RNAi）暴露于多环芳烃（PAHs）诱导的排毒和抗氧化防御系统中的机制。暴露于苯并（a）py（BaP）（4μg/ L）5天后，评估了芳烃受体核转运蛋白（ARNT），热休克蛋白90（Hsp90）的基因表达，以及AhR， ARNT，HSP90间接表明，AhR可能具有与诸如菲律宾蛤仔（R. philippinarum）中的PAHs等配体结合的能力。除了，测定了排毒酶的活性，以研究AhR信号通路在代谢排毒中的作用。此外，蛋白激酶C（PKC）信号通路，有丝分裂原活化蛋白激酶（MAPKs）信号通路，NF-E2相关因子2（Nrf2）信号通路和抗氧化防御系统的基因表达表明，AhR可能调节了Nrf2。 -Keap1信号传导途径通过Kelch样ECH相关蛋白1（Keap1）和MAPKs，PKC信号传导途径。总之，采用RNA干扰技术探索RpAhR基因在不同时间点PAHs胁迫下在排毒和抗氧化防御系统中所起的作用，可以为分子生物学的研究提供参考。