News

New publication

 
Coumoul X, Barouki R, Esser C, Haarmann-Stemmann T, Lawrence BP, Lehmann J, Moura-Alves P, Murray IA, Opitz CA, Perdew GH, Bourguet W: The aryl hydrocarbon receptor: structure, signaling, physiology and pathology. Sig Transduct Target Ther 11: 20, 2026. doi: 10.1038/s41392-025-02500-8

New publication

Mykicki N, Eble JA, Weighardt H, Gonnelli E, Schneeweiß M, Esser C, Weishaupt C, Rezaei M, Förster I, Schwab N, Wiendl H, Clausen BE, Meuth SG, Loser K: AhR signaling in skin-resident CD207+ cells is involved in UV-B-induced amelioration of neuroinflammation. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 122(36): e2424009122, 2025. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2424009122
 
Summary: In addition to genetic factors, environmental influences, including ultraviolet (UV) light, have an effect on immune-mediated processes in autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). The transcription factor aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) plays a central role in the perception of environmental factors. In this study, we investigated the importance of AHR in the transmission of the external factor UV light into a modulation of immunological processes (induction of immunosuppression) at the cellular level. Using animal models that mimic parts of the human disease, we were able to show that AHR signaling in tissue-resident antigen-presenting cells (in the case of UV light perception, antigen-presenting cells of the skin) was sufficient for the protective effect of this environmental factor. Thus, specific activation of the AHR signaling pathway in (cutaneous) antigen-presenting cells could represent a possibility for adjuvant therapy in MS in the future.

New publications

Sondermann NC, Vogel CFA, Haarmann-Stemmann T: Dioxins do not only bind to AHR but also team up with EGFR at the cell-surface: A novel mode of action of toxicological relevance? EXCLI J 24: 184-197, 2025. doi: 10.17179/excli2024-8038 

Nadal Rodríguez P*, Hartung F*, Pedrola M, Coomar S, Diaz A, Hätälä AM, Rolfes K, Sánchez-Vera I, Gil J, Molins E, Viayna A, Hanzl A, Thomä N, Haarmann-Stemmann T#, Luque FJ#, Lavilla R#, Ghashghaei O#: A multicomponent reaction-based platform opens new avenues in aryl hydrocarbon receptor modulation. ACS Cent Sci 11(4): 629-641, 2025. doi: 10.1021/acscentsci.5c00194 (* equal contribution, # corresponding authors)

Retreat

On June 24 and 25, 2025, the members of Research Unit 5489 met at the House of the University in Düsseldorf to discuss the status of their work and further planning.

In addition to the presentations on the individual sub-projects, two guest speakers from Essen University Hospital were also invited. Prof. Alpaslan Tasdogan spoke on the topic of “RNAseq: data analysis and integration” and Prof. Florian Rambow on “Spatial/single-cell analysis and their AI-based evaluation”.

New publication

Hartung F, Krutmann J, Haarmann-Stemmann T: Evidence that the aryl hydrocarbon receptor orchestrates oxinflammatory responses and contributes to airborne particulate matter-induced skin aging. Free Radic Biol Med 27: S0891-5849(25)00190-X, 2025. doi: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2025.03.040

6th International Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Conference / AHR meeting

From June 12-15, the IUF organized the “6th International Arylhydrocarbon Receptor Conference – Research, Prevention, Therapy” in Düsseldorf. Almost 200 scientists from all over the world discussed the latest research and findings. The AHR is important for health, but is also a potential target for therapies in the fields of immunology, cancer or dermatology and its role is now being investigated for a variety of other diseases. IUF has conducted research into this receptor since its foundation, and launched this conference in 2005, with the overall concept of exchange, promoting cooperation and bridging the gap between basic research and clinical application.

You can find the published congress report here.

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