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Updated: Mar 6, 2026

Isolation of Group 2 Innate Lymphoid Cells from Mouse Nasal Mucosa to Detect the Expression of CD226
Published on: May 10, 2022
Cytochrome P450s in human immune cells regulate IL-22 and c-Kit via an AHR feedback loop
Renate Effner1, Julia Hiller2, Stefanie Eyerich1
1Center of Allergy &Environment (ZAUM), Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Technische Universität München/Helmholtz Center, Munich, Germany.
Abstract:
The mechanisms how environmental compounds influence the human immune system are unknown. The environmentally sensitive transcription factor aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) has immune-modulating functions and responds to small molecules. Cytochrome P4501 enzymes (CYP1) act downstream of the AHR and metabolize small molecules. However, it is currently unknown whether CYP1 activity is relevant for immune modulation. We studied the interdependence of CYP1 and AHR in human primary immune cells using pharmacological methods. CYP1 inhibition increased the expression levels of the stem cell factor receptor (c-Kit) and interleukin (IL)-22 but decreased IL-17. Single cell analyses showed that CYP1 inhibition especially promoted CD4+ helper T (Th) cells that co-express c-Kit and IL-22 simultaneously. The addition of an AHR antagonist reversed all these effects. In addition to T cells, we screened other human immune cells for CYP and found cell-specific fingerprints, suggesting that similar mechanisms are present in multiple immune cells. We describe a feedback loop yet unknown in human immune cells where CYP1 inhibition resulted in an altered AHR-dependent immune response. This mechanism relates CYP1-dependent metabolism of environmental small molecules to human immunity.
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