PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Cunyu Zhang
AU  - Katrina L. Creech
AU  - William J. Zuercher
AU  - Timothy M. Willson
TI  - Light-dependent decomposition of FICZ, an endogenous ligand of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor
AID  - 10.1101/158980
DP  - 2017 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 158980
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/07/03/158980.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/07/03/158980.full
AB  - An efficient and scalable synthesis of 6-formylindolo[3,2-b]carbazole (FICZ) has been developed to provide large quantities of this physiologically important ligand of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor. Photo-decomposition of FICZ revealed a new non-enzymatic light-assisted mechanism for its conversion to a biologically less active quinone. The light-dependent synthesis and decomposition of FICZ makes it a candidate hormone to link sun exposure to regulation of biological pathways in peripheral tissues.