Oxidants, NF-κB and chronic gut inflammation

Oxidant regulation of gene expression is fast becoming one of the most active areas of investigation in inflammation research. Although oxidants and free radicals have been thought to promote inflammation and tissue injury directly via their ability to oxidize, inactivate and/or degrade important cellular constituents, it is now becoming increasingly apparent that non-toxic concentrations of these same oxidizing agents may initiate and/or perpetuate inflammation by activating certain transcription factors known to be critical in the inflammatory response. One such pleiotropic transcription factor is NF-(κ)B, whose activation includes multiple intracellular signaling pathways comprised of an overlaying network of oxidation, phosphorylation, ubiquitination and proteolytic reactions. There is also a growing body of both experimental and clinical data to suggest that certain antioxidants may be very effective in modulating a number of different human diseases including chronic inflammation. Thus, understanding how oxidants regulate basic cell function may prove helpful in the design of new therapeutic agents for the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases.