Upon binding to ligands such as 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), an aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is activated to form a heterodimer with an aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator (Arnt). This complex binds to DNA. It has been shown that the AhR bonds to a DNA sequence called the dioxin response element (DRE), which controls the expression of battery genes. It is reported that TCDD releases arachidonic acid from membrane phospholipids via activation of phospholipase A(2)s (PLA(2)s) in various cell types. Recently, we demonstrated that the TCDD-activated AhR binds to the second intron of the Pla2g4a gene, which encodes cytosolic phospholipase A(2)alpha (cPLA(2)alpha), in mouse hepatoma Hepa-1c1c7 cells. This result suggests that Pla2g4a appears to be a target gene of the AhR. In the present study, we investigated whether the transcriptional regulation of Pla2g4a is dependent on the AhR in Hepa-1c1c7 cells. Treatment of the cells with TCDD increased mRNA expression of Pla2g4a and enzymatic activity of PLA(2). while this increased expression was not observed in AhR-defective c12 cells. After transient transfection of an Ahr gene-expressing plasmid into the 02 cells, expression of Pla2g4a was increased by TCDD. These results indicate that Pla2g4a may be a novel target gene of the AhR, and its transcriptional induction is mediated through binding of the AhR to the second intron of Pla2g4a, although this target site does not have a typical DRE sequence. (C) 2009, The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. All rights reserved.