An AhR-Luciferase Adenovirus Infection System for Rapid Screening of Dioxins in Soils

Abstract

Our goal was to develop a fast-screening method for measuring dioxin levels in soils. The adenovirus (Ad)-dioxin-responsive (DR) bioassay system (AdEasy-6XDRE-TATA-Luc) combined with a fast-cleanup system was examined under conventional conditions (i.e., with incubation at 37°C) and three alternative conditions [incubation at 37°C with addition of phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA), incubation at 33°C, and incubation at 33°C with addition of PMA]. The best conditions for carrying out the Ad-DR bioassay was 33°C and no addition of PMA. The background level of soil dioxins determined by the chemical assay [6.49 ng I-TEQ/kg dry weight (dw)] was well correlated (Pearson's r = 0.873, p < 0.001) with that by the Ad-DR bioassay [expressed in ng bioanalytical equivalents (BEQ) 81.1 ng BEQ/kg dw] (n = 17). When surveyed in contaminated soil samples (n = 114) from industrial areas by the Ad-DR bioassay, dioxin levels were 117, 102, 98.5, and 112 ng BEQ/kg dw, respectively, in northern, central, southern, and eastern Taiwan.

Role of aryl hydrocarbon receptors in infection and inflammation

“…Additionally, AhR plays crucial roles in Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) plus-strand transcription by directly binding to the HTLV-1 LTR dioxin response element (DRE) site (CACGCATAT). Furthermore, the manipulation of AhR overexpression in HTLV-1 infected Tcells through the activation of the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kB) pathway, as well as the level of AhR ligands Kyn, determines HTLV-1 latency-reactivation-latency (80). The adenovirus-dioxinresponsive bioassay system proves to be a valuable tool for the detection of dioxins, as it relies on the AhR responsiveness of adenovirus (81).…”