The Role of the Nrf2/ARE Antioxidant System in Preventing Cardiovascular Diseases
1
US Food & Drug Administration, 11510 W 80th Street, Lenexa, KS 66214, USA
2
Department of Applied Chemistry, School of Engineering, Tokyo University of Technology, 1404-1 Katakuramachi, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0982, Japan
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Maurizio Battino
Diseases 2016, 4(4), 34; https://doi.org/10.3390/diseases4040034
Received: 15 September 2016
/
Revised: 4 November 2016
/
Accepted: 7 November 2016
/
Published: 11 November 2016
(This article belongs to the Collection Effects of Food Antioxidants on Cardiovascular Diseases and Human Cancers)
It is widely believed that consuming foods and beverages that have high concentrations of antioxidants can prevent cardiovascular diseases and many types of cancer. As a result, many articles have been published that give the total antioxidant capacities of foods in vitro. However, many antioxidants behave quite differently in vivo. Some of them, such as resveratrol (in red wine) and epigallocatechin gallate or EGCG (in green tea) can activate the nuclear erythroid-2 like factor-2 (Nrf2) transcription factor. It is a master regulator of endogenous cellular defense mechanisms. Nrf2 controls the expression of many antioxidant and detoxification genes, by binding to antioxidant response elements (AREs) that are commonly found in the promoter region of antioxidant (and other) genes, and that control expression of those genes. The mechanisms by which Nrf2 relieves oxidative stress and limits cardiac injury as well as the progression to heart failure are described. Also, the ability of statins to induce Nrf2 in the heart, brain, lung, and liver is mentioned. However, there is a negative side of Nrf2. When over-activated, it can cause (not prevent) cardiovascular diseases and multi-drug resistance cancer.
View Full-Text
Keywords:
Nrf2; transcription; antioxidants; EGCG; resveratrol; cardiovascular diseases; multi-drug resistant cancer
▼
Show Figures
Graphical abstract
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
MDPI and ACS Style
Smith, R.E.; Tran, K.; Smith, C.C.; McDonald, M.; Shejwalkar, P.; Hara, K. The Role of the Nrf2/ARE Antioxidant System in Preventing Cardiovascular Diseases. Diseases 2016, 4, 34. https://doi.org/10.3390/diseases4040034
AMA Style
Smith RE, Tran K, Smith CC, McDonald M, Shejwalkar P, Hara K. The Role of the Nrf2/ARE Antioxidant System in Preventing Cardiovascular Diseases. Diseases. 2016; 4(4):34. https://doi.org/10.3390/diseases4040034
Chicago/Turabian StyleSmith, Robert E., Kevin Tran, Cynthia C. Smith, Miranda McDonald, Pushkar Shejwalkar, and Kenji Hara. 2016. "The Role of the Nrf2/ARE Antioxidant System in Preventing Cardiovascular Diseases" Diseases 4, no. 4: 34. https://doi.org/10.3390/diseases4040034
Find Other Styles
Note that from the first issue of 2016, MDPI journals use article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.
