AHR and listeriosis: Besides NF-κB, AhR has been shown to play a part in the innate immune response; such as in Listeria monocytogenes (LM) infections, where Kimura et al. revealed that AhR knockout macrophages had increased expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokines, IL-6 and TNF-α, and promoted caspase-3 activation; which lead to decreased macrophage survival and increased susceptibility to listeriosis [144].