Sustained aryl hydrocarbon receptor activity attenuates liver regeneration

In hepatocyte-derived cell lines, either loss of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) function or treatment with a persistent AhR agonist such as 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) can disrupt G₁ phase cell cycle progression. The present study used liver regeneration to explore mechanistically how AhR activity modulates hepatocyte proliferation in vivo. Treatment of mice with 20 μg/kg TCDD 1 day before 70% partial hepatectomy (PH) resulted in a 50 to 75% suppression in liver regeneration. Impaired proliferation was not associated with changes in levels of interleukin-6 or tumor necrosis factor-α, which prime quiescent hepatocytes to enter G ₁ phase. In fact, administration of TCDD 12 h after PH, a period well beyond the priming phase, still induced the G₁ arrest. Decreased proliferation in TCDD-treated mice correlated with reduced cyclin-dependent kinase-2 (CDK2) activity, a pivotal regulator of G₁/S phase transition. In contrast to observations made in cell culture, suppressed CDK2 activity was not strictly associated with increased binding of the CDK2 inhibitors p21^Cip1 or p27^Kip1. However, TCDD decreased levels of cyclin E binding to CDK2, despite normal cyclin E expression. The evidence also suggests that TCDD-induced hepatic growth arrest depends upon sustained AhR activity because transient AhR activation in response to endogenous queues failed to suppress the regenerative response. These findings establish a functional role for the AhR in regulating normal cell cycle control during liver regeneration.