Nrf2 tagged posts

Immunohistochemistry for alpha-synuclein showing positive staining (brown) of an intraneural Lewy-body in the Substantia nigra in Parkinson’s disease. Credit: Wikipedia

New details learned about a key cellular protein could lead to treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, Alzheimer’s, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). At their root, proteins misfold and accumulate in neurons, inflicting damage and eventually killing the cells. In a new study, researchers in the laboratory of Steven Finkbeiner, MD, PhD, at the Gladstone Institutes used a different protein, Nrf2, to restore levels of the disease-causing proteins to a normal, healthy range, thereby preventing cell death.

The researchers tested Nrf2 in 2 models of Parkinson’s disease: cells with muta...

Exercise-induced ROS activates Nrf2, which then translocates into the nucleus to increase the expression of antioxidant enzymes. Antioxidant response element (ARE), carbon monoxide (CO), Glutathione peroxidase (GPx), Glutathione S-transferase (GST), Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1), NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase-1 (NQO-1), and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2).

If you’re an older adult, a 30 min workout may not be as effective, even at the cellular level, as it was when you were younger. According to a new study, age may play a significant role in a cell’s ability to respond to that activity. In the study, a group of men 18 to 30 yo were tested against a group of older men 55 years and older...

The system has a protective cellular pathway inducer that activates the body’s natural defense against free radicals efficiently, a development that could control a variety of skin pathologies and disorders. The human skin is constantly exposed to various pollutants, UV rays, radiation and other stressors that exist in our day-to-day environment. When they filter into the body they can create Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) ie Free Radicals, which are able to damage and destroy cells, including lipids, proteins and DNA.

In the skin, an excess of ROS can lead to various skin conditions, including inflammatory diseases, pigmenting disorders, wrinkles and some types of skin cancer, and can also affect internal organs. This damage is known as Oxidative Stress...

This is Drosophila intestine associated with lactobacilli bacteria, seen in red. The green GFP-positive tissue on the edges is a measure of the upregulation of Nrf2-responsive cytoprotection genes. Credit: Rheinallt Jones

A helpful subset of the intestinal microbiome, lactobacilli, stimulates the cytoprotective Nrf2 pathway in both flies and mice. The findings could potentially lead to advances in the use of bacteria to treat intestinal diseases or mitigate the effects of radiation therapy for cancer. “The body’s response to bacteria is often seen through the lens of the immune system,” says Prof. Andrew Neish, MD. “The pathway we’ve identified is not inflammatory or immunoregulatory; rather, it’s cytoprotective.”

While many types of bacteria that live in our intestines are inert or even h...