Effects of dioxin-like compounds and aryl-hydrocarbon receptor agonists on target gene expression in cultured blood lymphocytes from cattle

Results of the present study demonstrated for the first time that bovine peripheral lymphocytes had an intact and functional AhR signalling pathway, which was responsive to AhR agonists exposure iin vitro. These findings suggest the suitability of CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 expression in blood lymphocytes from cattle as biomarker of exposure to dioxins and DL compounds in vivo. In this respect, further studies are in progress to confirm such hypothesis, with the purpose of providing a new tool to identify ‘contaminated’ animals and thus excluding their products from the food chain.