BackgroundAryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) ligands adversely affect many biological processes. However, assessment of the significance of human exposures is hampered by an incomplete understanding of how complex mixtures affect AhR activation/inactivation.ObjectivesThese studies used biological readouts to provide a broader context for estimating human risk than that obtained with serum extraction and gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (GC/MS)-based assays alone.MethodsAhR agonist activity was quantified in sera from dioxin-treated mice, commercial human sources, and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)–exposed Faroe Islanders using an AhR-driven reporter cell line. To validate relationships between serum AhR agonist levels and biological outcomes, AhR agonist activity in mouse sera correlated with toxic end points. AhR agonist activity in unmanipulated (“neat”) human sera was compared with these biologically relevant doses and with GC/MS-assayed PCB levels.ResultsMouse serum AhR agonist activity correlated with injected dioxin dose, thymic atrophy, and heptomegaly, validating the use of neat serum to assess AhR agonist activity. AhR agonist activity in sera from Faroe Islanders varied widely, was associated with the frequency of recent pilot whale dinners, but did not correlate with levels of PCBs quantified by GC/MS. Surprisingly, significant “baseline” AhR activity was found in commercial human sera.ConclusionsAn AhR reporter assay revealed cumulative levels of AhR activation potential in neat serum, whereas extraction may preclude detection of important non-dioxin-like biological activity. Significant levels of AhR agonist activity in commercial sera and in Faroe Islander sera, compared with that from experimentally exposed mice, suggest human exposures that are biologically relevant in both populations.

Calcium is an essential signaling molecule in developing B cells, thus altering calcium dynamics represents a potential target for toxicant effects. GW7845, a tyrosine analog and potent peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ agonist, induces rapid mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)-dependent apoptosis in bone marrow B cells. Changes in calcium dynamics are capable of mediating rapid initiation of cell death; therefore, we investigated the contribution of calcium to GW7845-induced apoptosis. Treatment of a nontransformed murine pro/pre-B cell line (BU-11) with GW7845 (40 μM) resulted in intracellular calcium release. Multiple features of GW7845-induced cell death were suppressed by the calcium chelator BAPTA, including MAPK activation, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, cytochrome c release, caspase-3 activation, and DNA fragmentation. A likely mechanism for the calcium-mediated effects is activation of CaMKII, a calcium-dependent MAP4K. We observed that three CaMKII isoforms (β, γ, and δ) are expressed in lymphoid tissues and bone marrow B cells. Treatment with GW7845 increased CaMKII activity. All features of GW7845-induced cell death, except loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, were suppressed by CaMKII inhibitors (KN93 and AIP-II), suggesting the activation of multiple calcium-driven pathways. To determine if CaMKII activation is a common feature of early B cell death following perturbation of Ca(2+) flux, we dissected tributyltin (TBT)-induced death signaling. High-dose TBT (1 μM) is known to activate calcium-dependent death. TBT induced rapid apoptosis that was associated with intracellular calcium release, CaMKII activation and MAPK activation, and was inhibited by AIP-II. Thus, we show that early B cells are susceptible to calcium-triggered cell death through a CaMKII/MAPK-dependent pathway.