Oxidative Stress and Digestive Diseases

Download or read book Oxidative Stress and Digestive Diseases written by Toshikazu Yoshikawa and published by Karger Medical and Scientific Publishers. This book was released on 2001-01-01 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the 1980s, biochemists and biologists were attracted by the role of reactive oxygen species in the irreversible damage or modification of the structure of biological molecules. However, in the 1990s, reactive oxygen species have been recognized to be involved in reversible structural alterations of molecules: The homeostatic modulation of oxidant levels is a highly efficient mechanism that allows all cells to tightly control their redox status within a very narrow range. Especially the activity of the Rel/NF-kB family of transcriptional factors that regulate responses in inflammation, reperfusion injury and apoptosis is controlled by intracellular reactive oxygen species levels. Our understanding of how these transcriptional factors are negatively or positively regulated by oxidative stress has since greatly increased. Questions for future investigation center on the modulation of oxidative stress by personal genome information for the prevention of several pathologic states.