In response to oxidative stress, Nrf2 and p21(Cip1/WAF1) are both upregulated to protect cells from oxidative damage. Nrf2 is constantly ubiquitinated by a Keap1 dimer that interacts with a weak-binding (29)DLG motif and a strong-binding (79)ETGE motif in Nrf2, resulting in degradation of Nrf2. Modification of the redox-sensitive cysteine residues on Keap1 disrupts the Keap1-(29)DLG binding, le...

Nrf2 plays a role in protection of cells against oxidative stress and xenobiotic damage by regulating cytoprotective genes. In this study, we investigated the effect of Nrf2 on melanogenesis in normal human melanocytes (NHMCs). When NHMCs were transduced with a recombinant adenovirus expressing Nrf2, melanin synthesis was significantly decreased. Consistent with this result, overexpression of N...

Skeletal muscle (SM) regeneration after injury is impaired by excessive inflammation. Particularly, the inflammatory cytokine tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-like weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK) is a potent inducer of skeletal muscle wasting and fibrosis. In this study we investigated the role of Nrf2, a major regulator of oxidative stress defence, in SM ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury and TWE...

NF erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) is a transcription factor that mediates the upregulation of a battery of cytoprotective genes in response to cell stress. Recent studies showed that Nrf2 also modulates immune responses and exhibits anti-inflammatory activity. In this article, we demonstrate that a common food preservative, tert-butylhydroquinone, can activate Nrf2 in T cells, as evidenced...

Pulmonary macrophages are one of the sources of various antioxidant and detoxification enzymes for which NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) is a key transcriptional factor. Although Nrf2 deficiency reportedly induces severe emphysema in mice exposed to cigarette smoke (CS), no reports have studied Nrf2 regulation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In this study, Nrf2 activation in resp...

To investigate the role of hepatic 18-carbon fatty acids (FA) accumulation in regulating CYP2A5/2A6 and the significance of Nrf2 in the process during hepatocytes steatosis, Nrf2-null, and wild type mice fed with high-fat diet (HFD), and Nrf2 silenced or over expressed HepG2 cells administered with 18-carbon FA were used. HE and Oil Red O staining were used for mice hepatic pathological examina...

Aberrant nuclear factor-erythroid 2 (NRF2) expression correlates with tumor development. We investigated NRF2 expression in ovarian epithelial carcinoma (OEC), aiming to identify associations with clinicopathological factors, hormones and induced reactive oxygen species (ROS). Immunohistochemical staining for NRF2 expression was performed on 10 be...

NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) is a key transcription factor that is critical for cellular defense against oxidative and xenobiotic insults. Nrf2 heterodimerizes with small Maf (sMaf) proteins and binds to antioxidant response elements (AREs) to activate a battery of cytoprotective genes. However, it remains unclear to what extent the Nrf2-sMaf heterodimers contribute to ARE-dependent gene regul...

Nrf2 (nuclear factor erytheroid-derived-2-like 2) transcriptional programmes are activated by a variety of cellular stress conditions to maintain cellular homoeostasis. Under non-stress conditions, Nrf2 is under tight regulation by the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS). Detailed mechanistic investigations have shown the Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1)-cullin3 (Cul3)-ring-box1 (Rbx1)...

The Nrf2 transcription factor is a master regulator of the cellular defense against oxidative and electrophilic stress. An increase in Nrf2 protein levels and an accumulation of Nrf2 in the nucleus are key parts of the Nrf2 activation mechanism. The western blot technique remains the most widely used method to assess these changes. A well-characterized, specific antibody that is commercially av...