Journal: Redox Biology

Article Title: Aryl hydrocarbon receptor in club cells drives Th17-mediated lung injury following inhalation exposure to environmentally persistent free radicals

doi: 10.1016/j.redox.2026.104105

Figure Lengend Snippet: Club cell AHR is required for EPFR-induced pulmonary Th17 responses and neutrophilic inflammation. (a) Schematic of the experimental design: tamoxifen was administered for 5 consecutive days to induce Cre recombinase-mediated deletion of Ahr in club cells, followed by a 7-day washout period. Male and female Cre-negative Ahr fl/fl LM or Ahr ΔCC mice were then exposed to air or EPFRs by inhalation from day 0 through day 6. Lungs and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were collected on day 6 post-exposure. (b) Flow cytometric quantification of Th17 cells i.e. IL-17 producing CD4 + T cells (Lin − CD45 + CD3 + CD4 + ) in lungs of air or EPFR-exposed LM and Ahr ΔCC mice; n = 6 to 10 mice per group. Data are presented as mean ± SEM and normalized to air controls of the respective genotype. Statistical significance was determined using Student's t-test (∗p < 0.05) (c) Concatenated pseudo color dot plots of CD4 + T cells gated for IL-17A in air or EPFR-exposed LM and Ahr ΔCC mice; n = 6 to 10 mice. Data are presented as mean ± SEM and normalized to air controls of the respective genotype. Statistical significance was determined using Student's t-test (∗p < 0.05) (d) Total and differential BALF cell counts from air or EPFR-exposed LM and Ahr ΔCC mice; n = 4 to 6 mice per group. Data are presented as mean ± SEM. Statistical significance was determined using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's post-hoc test; a p <0.05 compared to Air-LM and b p < 0.05 compared to EPFR-LM. (e) Representative BALF cell images from LM and Ahr ΔCC mice exposed to air or EPFR; arrows indicate neutrophils. Scale bar = 25 μm. (f-j) Analysis of BALF pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-17, KC/GRO, IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α) from air or EPFR-exposed LM and Ahr ΔCC mice; n = 4 to 7 mice per group. Data are presented as mean ± SEM and normalized to air controls of the respective genotype. Statistical significance was determined using Student's t-test (∗p < 0.05).

Article Snippet: IL-17A levels in BALF samples were measured using a commercially available Mouse IL-17A Sandwich ELISA Kit (Proteintech, Rosemont, IL; catalog# KE10020) according to the manufacturer's instructions.

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