This AOP is licensed under the BY-SA license. This license allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, so long as attribution is given to the creator. The license allows for commercial use. If you remix, adapt, or build upon the material, you must license the modified material under identical terms.

AOP: 131

Title

A descriptive phrase which references both the Molecular Initiating Event and Adverse Outcome.It should take the form “MIE leading to AO”. For example, “Aromatase inhibition leading to reproductive dysfunction” where Aromatase inhibition is the MIE and reproductive dysfunction the AO. In cases where the MIE is unknown or undefined, the earliest known KE in the chain (i.e., furthest upstream) should be used in lieu of the MIE and it should be made clear that the stated event is a KE and not the MIE.  More help

Aryl hydrocarbon receptor activation leading to uroporphyria

Short name
A name that succinctly summarises the information from the title. This name should not exceed 90 characters. More help
AHR activation-uroporphyria
The current version of the Developer's Handbook will be automatically populated into the Handbook Version field when a new AOP page is created.Authors have the option to switch to a newer (but not older) Handbook version any time thereafter. More help
Handbook Version v1.0

Graphical Representation

A graphical representation of the AOP.This graphic should list all KEs in sequence, including the MIE (if known) and AO, and the pair-wise relationships (links or KERs) between those KEs. More help
Click to download graphical representation template Explore AOP in a Third Party Tool

Authors

The names and affiliations of the individual(s)/organisation(s) that created/developed the AOP. More help

Authours: Amani Farhat1, Gillian Manning, Jason OBrien2, and Sean W. Kennedy3

Environment and Climate Change Canada

Contact Information:

1) Amani_farhat@hotmail.com

2) jason.obrien@canada.ca

3) sean.kennedy.ottawa@gmail.com

Point of Contact

The user responsible for managing the AOP entry in the AOP-KB and controlling write access to the page by defining the contributors as described in the next section.   More help
Amani Farhat   (email point of contact)

Contributors

Users with write access to the AOP page.  Entries in this field are controlled by the Point of Contact. More help
  • Amani Farhat
  • Jason M. O'Brien

Coaches

This field is used to identify coaches who supported the development of the AOP.Each coach selected must be a registered author. More help

OECD Information Table

Provides users with information concerning how actively the AOP page is being developed and whether it is part of the OECD Workplan and has been reviewed and/or endorsed. OECD Project: Assigned upon acceptance onto OECD workplan. This project ID is managed and updated (if needed) by the OECD. OECD Status: For AOPs included on the OECD workplan, ‘OECD status’ tracks the level of review/endorsement of the AOP . This designation is managed and updated by the OECD. Journal-format Article: The OECD is developing co-operation with Scientific Journals for the review and publication of AOPs, via the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding. When the scientific review of an AOP is conducted by these Journals, the journal review panel will review the content of the Wiki. In addition, the Journal may ask the AOP authors to develop a separate manuscript (i.e. Journal Format Article) using a format determined by the Journal for Journal publication. In that case, the journal review panel will be required to review both the Wiki content and the Journal Format Article. The Journal will publish the AOP reviewed through the Journal Format Article. OECD iLibrary published version: OECD iLibrary is the online library of the OECD. The version of the AOP that is published there has been endorsed by the OECD. The purpose of publication on iLibrary is to provide a stable version over time, i.e. the version which has been reviewed and revised based on the outcome of the review. AOPs are viewed as living documents and may continue to evolve on the AOP-Wiki after their OECD endorsement and publication.   More help
OECD Project # OECD Status Reviewer's Reports Journal-format Article OECD iLibrary Published Version
1.7 WPHA/WNT Endorsed Scientific Review iLibrary link
This AOP was last modified on April 29, 2023 16:02

Revision dates for related pages

Page Revision Date/Time
Activation, AhR February 28, 2024 05:12
Oxidation, Uroporphyrinogen September 16, 2017 10:16
Inhibition, UROD May 30, 2018 12:49
Accumulation, Highly carboxylated porphyrins May 07, 2018 07:56
Uroporphyria May 07, 2018 07:53
Induction, CYP1A2/CYP1A5 May 30, 2018 14:24
Activation, AhR leads to Induction, CYP1A2/CYP1A5 May 07, 2018 08:09
Induction, CYP1A2/CYP1A5 leads to Oxidation, Uroporphyrinogen May 31, 2018 15:43
Oxidation, Uroporphyrinogen leads to Inhibition, UROD May 30, 2018 10:58
Inhibition, UROD leads to Accumulation, Highly carboxylated porphyrins May 30, 2018 12:40
Accumulation, Highly carboxylated porphyrins leads to Uroporphyria May 07, 2018 08:03
Dibenzo-p-dioxin November 29, 2016 18:42
Polychlorinated biphenyl November 29, 2016 18:42
Hexachlorobenzene November 29, 2016 18:42
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) February 09, 2017 15:43

Abstract

A concise and informative summation of the AOP under development that can stand-alone from the AOP page. The aim is to capture the highlights of the AOP and its potential scientific and regulatory relevance. More help

Hepatic uroporphyria is a disorder where the disturbance of heme biosynthesis results in accumulation and excretion of uroporphyrin, heptacarboxyl- and hexacarboxyl porphyrin: collectively referred to as highly carboxylated porphyrins (HCPs)[1][2][3]. The disorder is due to a homozygous mutation in uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase (UROD), an enzyme involved in the heme biosynthesis pathway [4], or may be chemically induced, which involves the inhibition of UROD. This adverse outcome pathway (AOP) describes the linkages leading to chemically induced porphyria through the activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), a ligand-activated transcription factor.  AHR activation leads to the induction of cytochrome P450 1A2, a phase I metabolizing enzyme, which in turn results in excessive oxidation of uroporphyrinogen.  This oxidation produces a UROD inhibitor, preventing the conversion of uroporphyrinogen to coprouroporphyrinogen and increasing the synthesis of the UROD inhibitor in a positive feedback loop. The accumulation of uroporphyrinogen leads to its preferential oxidation and accumulation of HCP in various organs (Uroporphyria).  This AOP was developed in accordance with OECD guidelines and demonstrates a high degree of confidence as a qualitative AOP. The quantitative understanding of this AOP however is not yet complete, preventing the accurate prediction of uroporphyria from lower level key events.

AOP Development Strategy

Context

Used to provide background information for AOP reviewers and users that is considered helpful in understanding the biology underlying the AOP and the motivation for its development.The background should NOT provide an overview of the AOP, its KEs or KERs, which are captured in more detail below. More help

Heme is a cyclic tetrapyrrole cofactor containing Fe2+ porphyrin-containing ferroprotein that forms various hemoproteins such as hemoglobin, cytochromes and catalases [62]. Its biosynthesis mostly occurs in the liver and involves 8 separate steps. Porphyria is a disorder in which the disturbance of any of the steps of heme biosynthesis results in accumulation and excretion of porphyrins[2]. A variety of porphyrias exist depending on which enzyme in the pathway is deficient. This AOP describes a situation in which the 5th step of heme biosynthesis, uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase (UROD), which converts uroporphyrinogen to coproporphyrinogen, is inhibited.

Hepatic uroporphyria is viewed somewhat differently by clinicians and toxicologists. For the former it is mostly a sporadic disease (porphyria cutanea tarda; PCT) occurring sometimes in patients exposed to a variety of insults such as alcohol, estrogens, hepatitis viruses, HIV and on dialysis. Importantly, very early on it was found that lowering body iron stores by bleeding or now chelators causes remission [61]. In some northern European and US patients, carrying the hemochromatosis mutation is a risk factor but in other patients other iron susceptibility genes may contribute. Carrying a UROD mutation (lowering activity) is also a risk factor but still dependent on other susceptibility factors to see porphyria. To reproduce these findings experimentally has proved challenging but now possible. For toxicologists hepatic uroporphyria has mostly been seen as a toxic, but unique and curious endpoint of polychlorinated ligands of the AHR.  Experimentally, TCDD in mice is the most potent agent consistent with AHR mode of action but is more difficult in rats and other organisms. Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) has been greatly studied for its porphyria-inducing abilities and a large incident of porphyria in some young people in Turkey 60 years ago was ascribed to susceptible individuals who had consumed HCB. It is controversial whether HCB is a weak AHR ligand. Evidence of porphyria in people exposed accidentally or occupationally to accepted AHR ligands such as TCDD and PCBs is thin. Importantly, iron status can profoundly modify experimental uroporphyria induced by these chemicals especially in mice. In fact iron overload alone of mice will eventually produce a strong hepatic uroporphyria which is markedly genetically determined and toxicity can be ameliorated by chelators resembling PCT. Thus hepatic porphyria could alternatively be viewed as an iron AOP. At an overall level hepatic uroporphyria in animals and patients is the outcome of complex genetic traits and external stimuli in which in some traditional toxicological circumstances binding of a chemical to the AHR may have a major contribution[67] but in others may not.

Strategy

Provides a description of the approaches to the identification, screening and quality assessment of the data relevant to identification of the key events and key event relationships included in the AOP or AOP network.This information is important as a basis to support the objective/envisaged application of the AOP by the regulatory community and to facilitate the reuse of its components.  Suggested content includes a rationale for and description of the scope and focus of the data search and identification strategy/ies including the nature of preliminary scoping and/or expert input, the overall literature screening strategy and more focused literature surveys to identify additional information (including e.g., key search terms, databases and time period searched, any tools used). More help

Summary of the AOP

This section is for information that describes the overall AOP.The information described in section 1 is entered on the upper portion of an AOP page within the AOP-Wiki. This is where some background information may be provided, the structure of the AOP is described, and the KEs and KERs are listed. More help

Events:

Molecular Initiating Events (MIE)
An MIE is a specialised KE that represents the beginning (point of interaction between a prototypical stressor and the biological system) of an AOP. More help
Key Events (KE)
A measurable event within a specific biological level of organisation. More help
Adverse Outcomes (AO)
An AO is a specialized KE that represents the end (an adverse outcome of regulatory significance) of an AOP. More help
Type Event ID Title Short name
MIE 18 Activation, AhR Activation, AhR
KE 850 Induction, CYP1A2/CYP1A5 Induction, CYP1A2/CYP1A5
KE 844 Oxidation, Uroporphyrinogen Oxidation, Uroporphyrinogen
KE 845 Inhibition, UROD Inhibition, UROD
KE 846 Accumulation, Highly carboxylated porphyrins Accumulation, Highly carboxylated porphyrins
AO 369 Uroporphyria Uroporphyria

Relationships Between Two Key Events (Including MIEs and AOs)

This table summarizes all of the KERs of the AOP and is populated in the AOP-Wiki as KERs are added to the AOP.Each table entry acts as a link to the individual KER description page. More help

Network View

This network graphic is automatically generated based on the information provided in the MIE(s), KEs, AO(s), KERs and Weight of Evidence (WoE) summary tables. The width of the edges representing the KERs is determined by its WoE confidence level, with thicker lines representing higher degrees of confidence. This network view also shows which KEs are shared with other AOPs. More help

Prototypical Stressors

A structured data field that can be used to identify one or more “prototypical” stressors that act through this AOP. Prototypical stressors are stressors for which responses at multiple key events have been well documented. More help

Life Stage Applicability

The life stage for which the AOP is known to be applicable. More help
Life stage Evidence
Adult High
Juvenile High

Taxonomic Applicability

Latin or common names of a species or broader taxonomic grouping (e.g., class, order, family) can be selected.In many cases, individual species identified in these structured fields will be those for which the strongest evidence used in constructing the AOP was available. More help
Term Scientific Term Evidence Link
mouse Mus musculus High NCBI
rat Rattus norvegicus High NCBI
human Homo sapiens High NCBI
chicken Gallus gallus Moderate NCBI
herring gull Larus argentatus Moderate NCBI
Japanese quail Coturnix japonica Low NCBI
Common Starling Common Starling Moderate NCBI

Sex Applicability

The sex for which the AOP is known to be applicable. More help
Sex Evidence
Unspecific High

Overall Assessment of the AOP

Addressess the relevant biological domain of applicability (i.e., in terms of taxa, sex, life stage, etc.) and Weight of Evidence (WoE) for the overall AOP as a basis to consider appropriate regulatory application (e.g., priority setting, testing strategies or risk assessment). More help

Overall, this AOP can most accurately be applied to mammalian species past the embryonic and infant stage of development.  It is also representative of a solid toxicity pathway in avian species, however the contribution of the defining key event (UROD inhibition) is not as well understood; it is not as dramatically and consistently inhibited as it is with mammals.  There is minimal evidence supporting the applicability of this AOP in fish, and none in alternate species.  Details and supporting evidences are summarized below.

Domain of Applicability

Addressess the relevant biological domain(s) of applicability in terms of sex, life-stage, taxa, and other aspects of biological context. More help

Life Stage Applicability, Taxonomic Applicability, Sex Applicability Elaborate on the domains of applicability listed in the summary section above. Specifically, provide the literature supporting, or excluding, certain domains.

Life Stage Applicability: Uroporphyria occurs following chemical exposure in juvenile or adult individuals. Fetal exposure to dioxin-like compounds causes developmental abnormalities and embryolethality rather than HCP accumulation[15][16][17][18][19]. Turkish children under the age of two that were exposed to HCB through breastmilk passed away from a condition called "pink sore”[20].

Taxonomic Applicability: Although the AHR is highly conserved in evolution[21], chemical-induced uroporphyria has only been detected in birds[1][2][3] and mammals[22] , including an accidental outbreak in humans due to hexachlorobenzen-contaminated grain in the 1950s[20]. Fish are less susceptible to chemical-induced uroporphyria, but elevated levels of HCP have been documented in highly contaminated environments[23].

Sex Applicability: Although this AOP applies broadly to both males and females, sexual dimorphism for uroporphyria has been observed in rats exposed to hexachlorobenzene (HCB). Hepatic uroporphyrin III was markedly increased in female rats exposed to HCB whereas exposed males showed levels of hepatic porphyrins similar to controls[24].

Essentiality of the Key Events

The essentiality of KEs can only be assessed relative to the impact of manipulation of a given KE (e.g., experimentally blocking or exacerbating the event) on the downstream sequence of KEs defined for the AOP. Consequently, evidence supporting essentiality is assembled on the AOP page, rather than on the independent KE pages that are meant to stand-alone as modular units without reference to other KEs in the sequence. The nature of experimental evidence that is relevant to assessing essentiality relates to the impact on downstream KEs and the AO if upstream KEs are prevented or modified. This includes: Direct evidence: directly measured experimental support that blocking or preventing a KE prevents or impacts downstream KEs in the pathway in the expected fashion. Indirect evidence: evidence that modulation or attenuation in the magnitude of impact on a specific KE (increased effect or decreased effect) is associated with corresponding changes (increases or decreases) in the magnitude or frequency of one or more downstream KEs. More help

Molecular Initiating Event Summary, Key Event Summary Provide an overall assessment of the essentiality for the key events in the AOP. Support calls for individual key events can be included in the molecular initiating event, key event, and adverse outcome tables above.

Every Key event in this AOP is absolutely essential for downstream events to occur. A summary of evidence for essentiality of each key event is given below.

Molecular Initiating Event: AHR activation (Essentiality=strong)

  • Mice with a high-affinity Ahr allele (C57BL/6J ) are much more sensitive to uroporphyria than mice with low-affinity Ahr allele (DBA/2)[25][26][27][28][29];
  • The Ah locus influences the susceptibility of C57BL/6J mice to HCB-induced porphyria[30];
  • Ahr knockout mice (C57BL/6) are resistant to development of porphyria, even in the presence of iron loading[25];
  • Primary hepatocytes of avian species indicate that species that are highly sensitive to AHR activation are more sensitive to uroporphyrin accumulation than species with lower sensitivity to AHR activation[31].

Key Event 1: CYP1A2/Cyp1A5 induction (Essentiality=strong)

  • CYP1A2 knockout in mice prevents chemical-induced uroporphyria[32][33][34];
  • CYP1A2 knockout prevents porphyria in genetically predisposed mice (Hfe-/-, Urod-/+) that normally develop porphyria in absence of external stimuli[35];
  • CYP1A2 levels are correlated with the extent of urophorphyrin accumulation in mice[36];
  • 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) and non-ortho substituted PCBs that are potent inducers of CYP1A4/5 cause accumulation of only HCPs in chicken embryonic hepatocytes cultures, whereas PCBs that do not induce CYP1A4/5 cause a porphyrin pattern that is not consistent with inhibition of UROD[37];
  • Common tern (Sterna hirundo) embryonic hepatocyte cultures, which are ~50 to > 1600 times less sensitive than chicken embryonic hepatocyte cultures to CYP1A5 induction by TCDD and PCBs, do not accumulate HCPs upon chemical exposure[31].

It should be noted that a recent study by Davies et al.[25] found that both C57BL/6J mice (susceptible to chemical-induced porphyria) and DBA/2 mice (resistant to porphyria due to polymorphism in AHR gene) showed increased expression of CYP1A2 when exposed to TCDD, even though the DBA/2 strain did not develop porphyria. Furthermore AHR-/- mice showed a mild uroporphyric response in the presence of iron loading and 5-aminolevulinic acid (a heme precursor). These findings suggest that the induction of CYP1A2 is not crucial for chemical-induced porphyria, but a basal level of expression is absolutely essential.

Key Event 2: Uroporphyrinogen oxidation (UROX) (Essentiality=strong)

  • Uroporphyria is characterized biochemically by increased formation of HCPs derived by oxidation of the porphyrinogen substrates of uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase (UROD); secondary to decreased activity of this enzyme in the liver[22];
  • Uroporphomethane, derived from oxidizing a single carbon bridge in uroporphyrinogen, has been identified as the UROD inhibitor that leads to chemically- and genetically-induced uroporphyria in mice[38];
  • UROX activity is positively correlated with uroporphyrin levels in mice[36].

Key Event 3: Uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase (UROD) inhibition (Essentiality=strong)

  • Mutations in the UROD gene that reduce or eliminate UROD activity lead to porphyria in mammals; a decrease in hepatic UROD activity of at least 70% is necessary to observe symptoms from overproduction of porphyrins[22];
  • A marked progressive decrease in UROD enzyme activity is a common feature in animal models of chemical-induced porphyria[22][34][39][40][41];
  • Liver cytosol UROD activity in female rats exposed to HCB was decreased more than 70% and correlated with elevated hepatic uroporphyrin levels, whereas male rats, which did not develop porphyria, showed UROD activity similar to controls[24];
  • UROD activity is inversely proportional to uroporphyrin levels in mice[36];
  • In chicken hepatocytes, the strongest inducers of porphyrin accumulation were also the strongest inhibitors of UROD activity[41];
  • Reduced UROD enzyme activity, not protein levels, is characteristic of uroporphyria in humans and rats[24][42][43].

Key Event 4: Highly carboxylated porphyrin (HCP) accumulation (Essentiality=strong)

  • Under normal heme biosynthesis, porphyrins are only present in trace amounts in the liver; however, in the absence of UROD activity, the oxidation of Uroporphorynogen to uroporphyrins dominates, leading to an accumulation of HCPs;
  • Porphyrins are strongly fluorescent compounds resulting in a characteristic red fluorescence of hepatic tissue under UV light that is proportional to the level of porphyrins[44][45]. Increased urinary excretion of porphyrins is also indicative of their accumulation and can lead to dark red/brown urine[22]. HCPs also accumulate in the skin causing solar hypersensitivity and increased skin fragility[46];
  • HCP accumulation was observed in avian embryo hepatocyte cultures following exposure potent AHR agonists (dioxin-like compounds)[37][47][48][49] and in the livers of Japanese quails and chickens exposed to PCBs[50][51][52];
  • HCP accumulation was evident in mice treated with polyhalogenated aromatic compounds[36] or TCDD[25].

Evidence Assessment

Addressess the biological plausibility, empirical support, and quantitative understanding from each KER in an AOP. More help

Summary Table

Dose concordance

Table 1 demonstrates that upstream KEs (monooxygenase activity/quantity) are significantly affected at lower doses than downstream KEs (porphyrin levels). After a 6 month recovery period, CYP450 and hepatic porphyrin levels were dramatically reduced, however, they did not return to normal. Furthermore, urinary porphyrin excretion remained maximally elevated[53]

Uroporphyria Table 1 TCDD recovery.png

Temporal Concordance

Table 2 demonstrates that upstream KEs (CYP1A2 expression and UROD inhibition) are significantly affected at earlier time-points than downstream KEs (porphyrin levels). These studies also show that upstream KEs are more sensitive to change than downstream KEs; ddY mice showed a 44% reduction in UROD activity but did not develop uroporphyria[25][54].

Key Events Relationships

Table 3 shows a sampling of the literature that demonstrates changes in KEs at multiple levels of organization leading to uroporphyria. The use of animal models resistant to porphyria (low AHR affinity or AHR/CYP1A2 knockout) illustrates the essentiality of these KEs in for downstream effects.

Uroporphyria Table 3 KER Summary.png

Uncertainties

CYPs other than CYP1A2 are able of catalyzing uroporphyrinogen oxidation, raising doubts on the essentiality of CYP1A2 for this pathway. For instance, Phillips et al.[35] were able to generate mild uroporphyria in a Cyp1A2-/- mouse model that is genetically predisposed (Hfe-/-, Urod-/+) to develop porphyria.

The essentiality of CYP1A2 induction in human porphyria cutanea tarda is unclear. UROX activity in human liver microsomes was not correlated with CYP1A2 content[66]. Furthermore, there is contradictory evidence regarding the association between CYP1A2 polymorphism and susceptibility to porphyria cutanea tarda [63-64]. It may be possible that in patients with a genetic variation in UROD causing an inherent reduction in activity, the activity of CYP1A2 is less important.

UROD inhibition is not always observed and/or is less pronounced in avian models of porphyria, mainly in quail [47]. It is suggested that a mechanism other than UROD inhibition explain the extent of porphyrin accumulation in birds. Therefore, the applicability of this AOP to avian remains uncertain.

The characterization of the UROD inhibitor isolated by Phillips [38] has been criticized by Danton[66]. Therefore, UROD inhibitor has yet to be identified.

AhR binding stressors under certain conditions do not lead to adverse effect in particular mammalian strains[25].

Known Modulating Factors

Modulating factors (MFs) may alter the shape of the response-response function that describes the quantitative relationship between two KES, thus having an impact on the progression of the pathway or the severity of the AO.The evidence supporting the influence of various modulating factors is assembled within the individual KERs. More help

Quantitative Understanding

Optional field to provide quantitative weight of evidence descriptors.  More help

Summary Table Provide an overall discussion of the quantitative information available for this AOP. Support calls for the individual relationships can be included in the Key Event Relationship table above.

The overall quantitative understanding of this AOP is moderate for mammals and poor for alternate species. Quantitative models have been developed that predict the AHR transactivation potential of various compounds [55][56][57], but the extent of AHR activation necessary to produce porphyria is not known. It has been established that a reduction in UROD activity of at least 70% is required to lead to overt uroporphyrin in mammals[58][24][54]. Additionally, numerous in vitro systems have been developed to study porphyrin accumulation and UROD inhibition simultaneously; therefore, this KER provides the most feasible target for a predictive, quantitative model. However, care must be taken when reading across to other species; UROD inhibition is not always observed in avian models of porphyria, and when it is, it is less pronounced[59][60][47].

Considerations for Potential Applications of the AOP (optional)

Addressess potential applications of an AOP to support regulatory decision-making.This may include, for example, possible utility for test guideline development or refinement, development of integrated testing and assessment approaches, development of (Q)SARs / or chemical profilers to facilitate the grouping of chemicals for subsequent read-across, screening level hazard assessments or even risk assessment. More help

This AOP was developed with the intended purpose of chemical screening as well as ecological risk assessment.  There are numerous in vitro assays for each key event up to the level of UROD activity.  There is sufficient evidence that a 70% inhibition of UROD activity significantly increases the risk of developing uroporphyria in mammals, making it a promising target assay in the battery of chemical screening tools.   Furthermore, there has recently been significant advances in the understanding of differences in avian sensitivity to AHR agonists, and a similar effort is underway for fish.  Sequencing the AHR ligand binding domain of any bird species (and potentially fish species) allows for its classification as low, medium or high sensitivity, which aids in the chemical risk assessment of DLCs and other AHR agonists.  There is also potential use for this AOP in risk management, as minimum allowable environmental levels can be customized to the sensitivity of the native species in the area under consideration.

References

List of the literature that was cited for this AOP. More help
  1. 1.0 1.1 Fox, G. A., Norstrom, R. J., Wigfield, D. C., and Kennedy, S. W. (1988) Porphyria in herring gulls: A biochemical response to chemical contamination of great lakes food chains. ‘’Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry’’ ‘’’7’’’ (10), 831-839
  2. 2.0 2.1 Kennedy, S. W., and Fox, G. A. (1990) Highly carboxylated porphyrins as a biomarker of polyhalogenated aromatic hydrocarbon exposure in wildlife: Confirmation of their presence in Great Lakes herring gull chicks in the early 1970s and important methodological details. Chemosphere 21 (3), 407-415.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Kennedy, S. W., Fox, G. A., Trudeau, S. F., Bastien, L. J., and Jones, S. P. (1998) Highly carboxylated porphyrin concentration: A biochemical marker of PCB exposure in herring gulls. Marine Environmental Research 46 (1-5), 65-69.
  4. Thunell, S. (2000) Porphyrins, porphyrin metabolism and porphyrias. I. Update. Scand. J. Clin. Lab Invest 60 (7), 509-540.
  5. Baba, T., Mimura, J., Nakamura, N., Harada, N., Yamamoto, M., Morohashi, K., and Fujii-Kuriyama, Y. (2005) Intrinsic function of the aryl hydrocarbon (dioxin) receptor as a key factor in female reproduction. Mol. Cell Biol. 25 (22), 10040-10051.
  6. Denison, M. S., Soshilov, A. A., He, G., DeGroot, D. E., and Zhao, B. (2011) Exactly the same but different: promiscuity and diversity in the molecular mechanisms of action of the aryl hydrocarbon (dioxin) receptor. Toxicol. Sci. 124 (1), 1-22.
  7. Fernandez-Salguero, P. M., Pineau, T., Hilbert, D. M., McPhail, T., Lee, S. S., Kimura, S., Nebert, D. W., Rudikoff, S., Ward, J. M., and Gonzalez, F. J. (1995) Immune system impairment and hepatic fibrosis in mice lacking the dioxin-binding Ah receptor. Science 268 (5211), 722-726.
  8. Ichihara, S., Yamada, Y., Ichihara, G., Nakajima, T., Li, P., Kondo, T., Gonzalez, F. J., and Murohara, T. (2007) A role for the aryl hydrocarbon receptor in regulation of ischemia-induced angiogenesis. Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol. 27 (6), 1297-1304.
  9. Lahvis, G. P., Lindell, S. L., Thomas, R. S., McCuskey, R. S., Murphy, C., Glover, E., Bentz, M., Southard, J., and Bradfield, C. A. (2000) Portosystemic shunting and persistent fetal vascular structures in aryl hydrocarbon receptor-deficient mice. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci U. S. A 97 (19), 10442-10447.
  10. Mimura, J., Yamashita, K., Nakamura, K., Morita, M., Takagi, T. N., Nakao, K., Ema, M., Sogawa, K., Yasuda, M., Katsuki, M., and Fujii-Kuriyama, Y. (1997) Loss of teratogenic response to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) in mice lacking the Ah (dioxin) receptor. Genes Cells 2 (10), 645-654.
  11. Omiecinski, C. J., Vanden Heuvel, J. P., Perdew, G. H., and Peters, J. M. (2011) Xenobiotic metabolism, disposition, and regulation by receptors: from biochemical phenomenon to predictors of major toxicities. Toxicol. Sci. 120 Suppl 1, S49-S75.
  12. Schmidt, J. V., Su, G. H., Reddy, J. K., Simon, M. C., and Bradfield, C. A. (1996) Characterization of a murine Ahr null allele: involvement of the Ah receptor in hepatic growth and development. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci U. S. A 93 (13), 6731-6736.
  13. Thackaberry, E. A., Gabaldon, D. M., Walker, M. K., and Smith, S. M. (2002) Aryl hydrocarbon receptor null mice develop cardiac hypertrophy and increased hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha in the absence of cardiac hypoxia. Cardiovasc. Toxicol. 2 (4), 263-274.
  14. Zhang, N., Agbor, L. N., Scott, J. A., Zalobowski, T., Elased, K. M., Trujillo, A., Duke, M. S., Wolf, V., Walsh, M. T., Born, J. L., Felton, L. A., Wang, J., Wang, W., Kanagy, N. L., and Walker, M. K. (2010) An activated renin-angiotensin system maintains normal blood pressure in aryl hydrocarbon receptor heterozygous mice but not in null mice. Biochem. Pharmacol. 80 (2), 197-204.
  15. Brunström, B. (1988) Sensitivity of embryos from duck, goose, herring gull, and various chicken breeds to 3,3',4,4'-tetrachlorobiphenyl. Poultry science 67 (1), 52-57.
  16. Carro, T., Taneyhill, L. A., and Ottinger, M. A. (2013) The effects of an environmentally relevant 58 congener polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) mixture on cardiac development in the chick embryo. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 23(6), 1325-31
  17. Gilbertson, M. (1983) Etiology of chick edema disease in herring gulls in the lower Great Lakes. Chemosphere 12 (3), 357-370.
  18. Lavoie, E. T., and Grasman, K. A. (2007) Effects of in ovo exposure to PCBs 126 and 77 on mortality, deformities and post-hatch immune function in chickens. J. Toxicol. Environ. Health A 70 (6), 547-558.
  19. Wells, P. G., Lee, C. J., McCallum, G. P., Perstin, J., and Harper, P. A. (2010) Receptor- and reactive intermediate-mediated mechanisms of teratogenesis. Handb. Exp. Pharmacol. (196), 131-162.
  20. 20.0 20.1 Cripps, D. J., Peters, H. A., Gocmen, A., and Dogramici, I. (1984) Porphyria turcica due to hexachlorobenzene: a 20 to 30 year follow-up study on 204 patients. Br. J Dermatol. 111 (4), 413-422.
  21. Kewley, R. J., Whitelaw, M. L., and Chapman-Smith, A. (2004) The mammalian basic helix-loop-helix/PAS family of transcriptional regulators. Int. J. Biochem. Cell Biol. 36 (2), 189-204.
  22. 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 Smith, A. G., and Elder, G. H. (2010) Complex gene-chemical interactions: hepatic uroporphyria as a paradigm. Chem. Res. Toxicol. 23 (4), 712-723.
  23. Wainwright, J. S., Hopkins, K. M., Bums Jr., T.A., and Di Giulio, R. T. (1995) Investigation of potential biomarkers of exposure to bleached kraft mill effluent in North Carolina rivers. Durham, NC.
  24. 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 Mylchreest, E., and Charbonneau, M. (1997) Studies on the mechanism of uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase inhibition in hexachlorobenzene-induced porphyria in the female rat. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 145 (1), 23-33.
  25. 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 25.4 Davies, R., Clothier, B., Robinson, S. W., Edwards, R. E., Greaves, P., Luo, J., Gant, T. W., Chernova, T., and Smith, A. G. (2008) Essential role of the AH receptor in the dysfunction of heme metabolism induced by 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin. Chem. Res. Toxicol. 21 (2), 330-340.
  26. Jones, K. G., and Sweeney, G. D. (1977) Association between induction of aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase and depression of uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase activity. Res. Commun. Chem. Pathol. Pharmacol. 17 (4), 631-637.
  27. Jones, K. G., and Sweeney, G. D. (1980) Dependence of the porphyrogenic effect of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo(p)dioxin upon inheritance of aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase responsiveness. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 53 (1), 42-49.
  28. Smith, A. G., Francis, J. E., Kay, S. J., and Greig, J. B. (1981) Hepatic toxicity and uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase activity following a single dose of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin to mice. Biochem. Pharmacol. 30 (20), 2825-2830.
  29. Smith, A. G., Clothier, B., Robinson, S., Scullion, M. J., Carthew, P., Edwards, R., Luo, J., Lim, C. K., and Toledano, M. (1998) Interaction between iron metabolism and 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin in mice with variants of the Ahr gene: a hepatic oxidative mechanism. Mol. Pharmacol. 53 (1), 52-61.
  30. Hahn, M. E., Gasiewicz, T. A., Linko, P., and Goldstein, J. A. (1988) The role of the Ah locus in hexachlorobenzene-induced porphyria. Studies in congenic C57BL/6J mice. Biochem. J. 254 (1), 245-254.
  31. 31.0 31.1 Lorenzen, A., Shutt, J. L., and Kennedy, S. W. (1997) Sensitivity of common tern (Sterna hirundo) embryo hepatocyte cultures to CYP1A induction and porphyrin accumulation by halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons and common tern egg extracts. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 32 (2), 126-134.
  32. Greaves, P., Clothier, B., Davies, R., Higginson, F. M., Edwards, R. E., Dalton, T. P., Nebert, D. W., and Smith, A. G. (2005) Uroporphyria and hepatic carcinogenesis induced by polychlorinated biphenyls-iron interaction: absence in the Cyp1a2(-/-) knockout mouse. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 331 (1), 147-152.
  33. Sinclair, P. R., Gorman, N., Dalton, T., Walton, H. S., Bement, W. J., Sinclair, J. F., Smith, A. G., and Nebert, D. W. (1998) Uroporphyria produced in mice by iron and 5-aminolaevulinic acid does not occur in Cyp1a2(-/-) null mutant mice. Biochem. J. 330 ( Pt 1'), 149-153.
  34. 34.0 34.1 Smith, A. G., Clothier, B., Carthew, P., Childs, N. L., Sinclair, P. R., Nebert, D. W., and Dalton, T. P. (2001) Protection of the Cyp1a2(-/-) null mouse against uroporphyria and hepatic injury following exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 173 (2), 89-98.
  35. Phillips, J. D., Kushner, J. P., Bergonia, H. A., and Franklin, M. R. (2011) Uroporphyria in the Cyp1a2-/- mouse. Blood Cells Mol. Dis. 47 (4), 249-254.
  36. 36.0 36.1 36.2 36.3 Gorman, N., Ross, K. L., Walton, H. S., Bement, W. J., Szakacs, J. G., Gerhard, G. S., Dalton, T. P., Nebert, D. W., Eisenstein, R. S., Sinclair, J. F., and Sinclair, P. R. (2002) Uroporphyria in mice: thresholds for hepatic CYP1A2 and iron. Hepatology 35 (4), 912-921.
  37. 37.0 37.1 Lorenzen, A., Kennedy, S. W., Bastien, L. J., and Hahn, M. E. (1997) Halogenated aromatic hydrocarbon-mediated porphyrin accumulation and induction of cytochrome P4501A in chicken embryo hepatocytes. Biochemical Pharmacology 53 (3), 373-384.
  38. Phillips, J. D., Bergonia, H. A., Reilly, C. A., Franklin, M. R., and Kushner, J. P. (2007) A porphomethene inhibitor of uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase causes porphyria cutanea tarda. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A 104 (12), 5079-5084.
  39. Kawanishi, S., Mizutani, T., and Sano, S. (1978) Induction of porphyrin synthesis in chick embryo liver cell culture by synthetic polychlorobiphenyl isomers. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 540 (1), 83-92.
  40. Miranda, C. L., Henderson, M. C., Wang, J. L., Nakaue, H. S., and Buhler, D. R. (1992) Comparative effects of the polychlorinated biphenyl mixture, Aroclor 1242, on porphyrin and xenobiotic metabolism in kidney of Japanese quail and rat. Comp Biochem. Physiol C. 103 (1), 149-152.
  41. 41.0 41.1 Sano, S., Kawanishi, S., and Seki, Y. (1985) Toxicity of polychlorinated biphenyl with special reference to porphyrin metabolism. Environ. Health Perspect. 59, 137-143.
  42. Elder, G. H., and Sheppard, D. M. (1982) Immunoreactive uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase is unchanged in porphyria caused by TCDD and hexachlorobenzene. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 109 (1), 113-120.
  43. Elder, G. H., Urquhart, A. J., De Salamanca, R. E., Munoz, J. J., and Bonkovsky, H. L. (1985) Immunoreactive uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase in the liver in porphyria cutanea tarda. Lancet 2 (8449), 229-233.
  44. Kennedy, S. W. (1988) Studies on Porphyria as an Indicator of Polyhalogenated Aromatic Hydrocarbon Exposure. Carleton University
  45. Lundvall, O., and Enerback, L. (1969) Hepatic fluorescence in porphyria cutanea tarda studied in fine needle aspiration biopsy smears. J Clin Pathol 22 (6), 704-709.
  46. Frank, J., and Poblete-Gutierrez, P. (2010) Porphyria cutanea tarda--when skin meets liver. Best. Pract. Res. Clin Gastroenterol. 24(5), 735-745.
  47. 47.0 47.1 Lambrecht, R. W., Sinclair, P. R., Bement, W. J., Sinclair, J. F., Carpenter, H. M., Buhler, D. R., Urquhart, A. J., and Elder, G. H. (1988) Hepatic uroporphyrin accumulation and uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase activity in cultured chick-embryo hepatocytes and in Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) and mice treated with polyhalogenated aromatic compounds. Biochem. J. 253 (1), 131-138.
  48. Marks, G. S., Zelt, D. T., and Cole, S. P. (1982) Alterations in the heme biosynthetic pathway as an index of exposure to toxins. Can. J. Physiol Pharmacol. 60 (7), 1017-1026.
  49. Sassa, S., Sugita, O., Ohnuma, N., Imajo, S., Okumura, T., Noguchi, T., and Kappas, A. (1986) Studies of the influence of chloro-substituent sites and conformational energy in polychlorinated biphenyls on uroporphyrin formation in chick-embryo liver cell cultures. Biochem. J. 235 (1), 291-296.
  50. Goldstein, J. A., McKinney, J. D., Lucier, G. W., Hickman, P., Bergman, H., and Moore, J. A. (1976) Toxicological assessment of hexachlorobiphenyl isomers and 2,3,7,8,-tetrachlorodibenzofuran in chicks. II. Effects on drug metabolism and porphyrin accumulation. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 36 (1), 81-92.
  51. McKinney, J. D., Chae, K., Gupta, B. N., Moore, J. A., and Goldstein, H. A. (1976) Toxicological assessment of hexachlorobiphenyl isomers and 2,3,7,8 tetrachlorodibenzofuran in chicks. I. Relationship of chemical parameters. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 36 (1), 65-80.
  52. Miranda, C. L., Henderson, M. C., Wang, J. L., Nakaue, H. S., and Buhler, D. R. (1987) Effects of polychlorinated biphenyls on porphyrin synthesis and cytochrome P-450-dependent monooxygenases in small intestine and liver of Japanese quail. J. Toxicol. Environ. Health 20 (1-2), 27-35.
  53. Goldstein, J. A., Linko, P., and Bergman, H. (1982). Induction of porphyria in the rat by chronic versus acute exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin. Biochem. Pharmacol. 31 (8), 1607-1613.
  54. 54.0 54.1 eki, Y., Kawanishi, S., and Sano, S. (1987). Mechanism of PCB-induced porphyria and yusho disease. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 514, 222-234.
  55. Gu, C., Goodarzi, M., Yang, X., Bian, Y., Sun, C., and Jiang, X. (2012). Predictive insight into the relationship between AhR binding property and toxicity of polybrominated diphenyl ethers by PLS-derived QSAR. Toxicol. Lett. 208 (3), 269-274.
  56. Hestermann, E. V., Stegeman, J. J., and Hahn, M. E. (2000). Relative contributions of affinity and intrinsic efficacy to aryl hydrocarbon receptor ligand potency. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol 168 (2), 160-172.
  57. Li, F., Li, X., Liu, X., Zhang, L., You, L., Zhao, J., and Wu, H. (2011). Docking and 3D-QSAR studies on the Ah receptor binding affinities of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and dibenzofurans (PCDFs). Environ. Toxicol. Pharmacol. 32 (3), 478-485.
  58. Caballes F.R., Sendi, H., and Bonkovsky, H. L. (2012). Hepatitis C, porphyria cutanea tarda and liver iron: an update. Liver Int. 32 (6), 880-893.
  59. Bonkovsky, H. L. (1989). Mechanism of iron potentiation of hepatic uroporphyria: studies in cultured chick embryo liver cells. Hepatology 10 (3), 354-364.
  60. James, C. A., and Marks, G. S. (1989). Inhibition of chick embryo hepatic uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase by components of xenobiotic-treated chick embryo hepatocytes in culture. Can. J Physiol Pharmacol. 67 (3), 246-249.
  61. Ippen H. (1977). Treatment of porphyria cutanea tarda by phlebotomy. Semin Hema-t ol.14, 253-9
  62. Poulos, T. L. (2014). Heme Enzyme Structure and Function. Chemical Reviews, 114(7), 3919–3962.
  63. Tchernitchko et al (2012) Comprehensive cytochrome P450 CYP1A2 gene analysis in French caucasian patients with familial and sporadic porphyria cutanea tarda. Bristish Journal of Dermatology, 166(2), 425-429.
  64. Christiansen et al (2000) Association between CYP1A2 polymorphism and susceptibility to porphyria cutanea tarda. Human Genetics. 107(6), 612–614.
  65. Danton, M., and Lim, C. K. (2007). Porphomethene inhibitor of uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase: analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Biomed. Chromatogr. 21 (7), 661-663
  66. Sinclair, P. R., Gorman, N., Tsyrlov, I. B., Fuhr, U., Walton, H. S., and Sinclair, J. F. (1998b). Uroporphyrinogen oxidation catalyzed by human cytochromes P450. Drug Metab Dispos. 26 (10), 1019-1025.
  67. Smith, A. G., & Chernova, T. (2009). Disruption of heme synthesis by polyhalogenated aromatics. Advances in Molecular Toxicology, 3, 161-210.