Gary Perdew

Director of the Center for Molecular Toxicology and Carcinogenesis; H. Thomas and Dorothy Willits Hallowell Chair in Agricultural Sciences


Gary Perdew

Research Summary

Mechanisms of receptor-mediated carcinogenesis.

Huck Affiliations

Links

Most Recent Publications

Effects of the environmental mammary carcinogen 6-nitrochrysene on p53 and p21Cip1 protein expression and cell cycle regulation in MCF-7 and MCF-10A cells

Y. Sun, C. Herzog, J. Krzeminski, S. Amin, Gary Perdew, Chem. Biol. Interaction

Xenobiotic Receptor-Mediated Toxicity

GH Perdew, IA Murray, JM Peters,

Phytochemical-Mediated Ah Receptor Activity Is Dependent on Dietary Context

Fangcong Dong, Andrew J. Annalora, Iain A. Murray, Debopriya Chakraborty, Denise M. Coslo, Craig Marcus, Andrew D. Patterson, Gary H. Perdew, 2025, Nutrients

The Janus-facedness of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor pathway Report of the 6th International AHR Meeting: Research, Prevention, Therapy

T Haarmann-Stemmann, D Reichert, X Coumoul, B Lawrence, Gary Perdew, D Sherr, H Weighardt, K Rolfes, C Esser, 2025, Biochemical Pharmacology on p. 116808

Sphingosine Kinase 2 Regulates Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Nuclear Translocation and Target Gene Activation

Shigetoshi Yokoyama, Imhoi Koo, Daisuke Aibara, Yuan Tian, Iain Alexander Murray, Stephanie L. Collins, Denise M. Coslo, Mari Kono, Jeffrey Maurice Peters, Richard L. Proia, Frank J. Gonzalez, Gary H. Perdew, Andrew D. Patterson, 2024, Advanced Science on p. e2400794

Effects of Early Life Exposures to the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Ligand TCDF on Gut Microbiota and Host Metabolic Homeostasis in C57BL/6J Mice

Yuan Tian, Bipin Rimal, Jordan E. Bisanz, Wei Gui, Trenton M. Wolfe, Imhoi Koo, Iain Alexander Murray, Shaneice K. Nettleford, Shigetoshi Yokoyama, Fangcong Dong, Sergei Koshkin, K. Sandeep Prabhu, Peter J. Turnbaugh, Seth T. Walk, Gary H. Perdew, Andrew D. Patterson, 2024, Environmental Health Perspectives on p. 87005

Modulation of Ceramide-Induced Apoptosis in Enteric Neurons by Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Signaling: Unveiling a New Pathway beyond ER Stress

Mallappa Anitha, Supriya M. Kumar, Imhoi Koo, Gary H. Perdew, Shanthi Srinivasan, Andrew D. Patterson, 2024, International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Activation of Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor-β/δ (PPARβ/δ) in Keratinocytes by Endogenous Fatty Acids

Bokai Zhu, Xiaoyang Zhu, Michael G. Borland, Douglas H. Ralph, Christopher R. Chiaro, Kristopher W. Krausz, James M. Ntambi, Adam B. Glick, Andrew D. Patterson, Gary H. Perdew, Frank J. Gonzalez, Jeffrey M. Peters, 2024, Biomolecules

The 2022 revised WHO TEFs for dioxins and dioxin-like chemicals: The importance of considering the use of species-specific information to determine relative effective potency for human-based risk assessment

David L. Eaton, Ted W. Simon, Norbert E. Kaminski, Gary H. Perdew, Daniel W. Nebert, 2024, Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology

Species differences in specific ligand-binding affinity and activation of AHR: The biological basis for calculation of relative effective potencies and toxic equivalence factors

David L. Eaton, Ted W. Simon, Norbert E. Kaminski, Gary H. Perdew, Daniel W. Nebert, 2024, Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology

Most-Cited Papers

Special section on drug metabolism and the microbiome - Minireview indole and tryptophan metabolism: Endogenous and dietary routes to ah receptor activation

Troy D. Hubbard, Iain A. Murray, Gary H. Perdew, 2015, Drug Metabolism and Disposition on p. 1522-1535

Adaptation of the human aryl hydrocarbon receptor to sense microbiota-derived indoles

Troy D. Hubbard, Iain A. Murray, William H. Bisson, Tejas S. Lahoti, Krishne Gowda, Shantu G. Amin, Andrew D. Patterson, Gary H. Perdew, 2015, Scientific Reports

Persistent organic pollutants modify gut microbiota–host metabolic homeostasis in mice through aryl hydrocarbon receptor activation

Limin Zhang, Robert G. Nichols, Jared Correll, Iain A. Murray, Naoki Tanaka, Philip B. Smith, Troy D. Hubbard, Aswathy Sebastian, Istvan Albert, Emmanuel Hatzakis, Frank J. Gonzalez, Gary H. Perdew, Andrew D. Patterson, 2015, Environmental Health Perspectives on p. 679-688

Intestinal microbiota-derived tryptophan metabolites are predictive of Ah receptor activity

Fangcong Dong, Fuhua Hao, Iain A. Murray, Philip B. Smith, Imhoi Koo, Alyssa Tindall, Penny Kris-Etherton, Krishne Gowda, Shantu G. Amin, Andrew D. Patterson, Gary Perdew, 2020, Gut Microbes on p. 1788899

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor as a mediator of host-microbiota interplay

Fangcong Dong, Gary H. Perdew, 2020, Gut Microbes

Genetic and pharmacological analysis identifies a physiological role for the AHR in epidermal differentiation

Ellen H. Van Den Bogaard, Michael A. Podolsky, Jos P. Smits, Xiao Cui, Christian John, Krishne Gowda, Dhimant Desai, Shantu G. Amin, Joost Schalkwijk, Gary H. Perdew, Adam B. Glick, 2015, Journal of Investigative Dermatology on p. 1320-1328

Metabolomics Reveals that Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Activation by Environmental Chemicals Induces Systemic Metabolic Dysfunction in Mice

Limin Zhang, Emmanuel Hatzakis, Robert G. Nichols, Ruixin Hao, Jared Correll, Philip B. Smith, Christopher R. Chiaro, Gary H. Perdew, Andrew D. Patterson, 2015, Environmental Science & Technology on p. 8067-8077

Urolithin a is a dietary microbiota-derived human aryl hydrocarbon receptor antagonist

Gulsum E. Muku, Iain A. Murray, Juan C. Espín, Gary H. Perdew, 2018, Metabolites

Dietary broccoli impacts microbial community structure and attenuates chemically induced colitis in mice in an Ah receptor dependent manner

Troy D. Hubbard, Iain A. Murray, Robert G. Nichols, Kaitlyn Cassel, Michael Podolsky, Guray Kuzu, Yuan Tian, Phillip Smith, Mary J. Kennett, Andrew D. Patterson, Gary H. Perdew, 2017, Journal of Functional Foods on p. 685-698

Expression of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor contributes to the establishment of intestinal microbial community structure in mice

Iain A. Murray, Robert G. Nichols, Limin Zhang, Andrew D. Patterson, Gary H. Perdew, 2016, Scientific Reports

News Articles Featuring Gary Perdew

Jan 30, 2026

Liver metabolism of an essential amino acid may play a key role in gut health

Many biological processes exhibit daytime differences governed by rhythmic exposure to sunlight, termed circadian rhythms. Researchers at Penn State recently found, in mice, that a protein critical to intestinal barrier function — helping the gut absorb nutrients while blocking harmful pathogens — is rhythmically controlled by nighttime liver metabolism of the molecule tryptophan.

Full Article

Aug 14, 2024

Early life exposure to common chemical permanently disrupts gut microbiome

Early life exposure to "forever chemicals" in the environment permanently disrupts the gut microbiome in mice, contributing to the development of metabolic disease in later life, according to a new study led by Penn State researchers. The results suggest that human exposure to these chemicals during early childhood may be contributing to the recent epidemic of metabolic disorders, including obesity and Type 2 diabetes among adults.

Full Article

Apr 06, 2023

Broccoli consumption protects gut lining, reduces disease, in mice

Broccoli is known to be beneficial to our health. For example, research has shown that increased consumption of the cruciferous vegetable decreases incidences of cancer and type 2 diabetes.

Full Article

Sep 02, 2022

Metabolomics Core Facility continues to expand while pushing scientific bounds

Established nearly a decade ago, Penn State’s Metabolomics Core Facility is housed in the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences on the University Park campus.

Full Article

Mar 30, 2020

Examining Links Between AHR, Microbiome, and Immune Functions

Gary Perdew, Ph.D., studies how the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) pathway interacts with the microbiome, the immune system, and protective barriers in skin and the gut.

Full Article