Publication Date

Spring 2026

Degree Type

Master's Project

Degree Name

Master of Science in Bioinformatics (MSBI)

Department

Computer Science

First Advisor

Dr. Wendy Lee

Second Advisor

Dr. William Andreopoulos

Third Advisor

Dr. Eugene Corning Butcher

Keywords

Cigarette Smoke, Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor, Single-Cell RNA Sequencing, Differential Gene Expression

Abstract

Cigarette smoke is a plight on human health, being a major contributor to lung diseases. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) directs immune regulation and metabolic adaptation in response to environmental toxins. This study investigates transcriptomic changes between wild-type and AHR knockout mouse lung tissue under smoke and air conditions. Single-cell RNA sequencing data were generated by the Butcher Lab and analyzed in Seurat for differential gene expression (DGE) analysis. A two way ANOVA framework was used with DGE analysis to classify genes as smoke induced or suppressed in an AHR dependent or independent manner, and these gene sets were analyzed with Enrichr to identify enriched pathways. Results revealed that smoke exposure shifts alveolar macrophages between a pro-inflammatory and an anti-inflammatory state in an AHR independent manner while capillary and arterial endothelial cells induce AHR dependent inflammatory responses, suggesting AHR signaling is cell type specific.

Download

Share

COinS