The role of Nrf2 and its mediated adaptive antioxidant response in arsenic carcinogenesis / 中华地方病学杂志

ABSTRACT

Arsenic is a systemic poison ubiquitously distributed in the nature. Long-term arsenic exposure can lead to a variety of cancers. Oxidative stress is a well-recognized mechanism underlying arsenic carcinogenesis. Nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) is a key transcription factor in cellular antioxidant defense. However, accumulating evidences suggest that environmental arsenic exposure may cause and promote arsenic-related cancers through Nrf2-mediated adaptive antioxidant response, which constitutively induces the expression of antioxidant enzymes and detoxification enzymes and confers survival advantage to the cell under stress. Therefore, elucidating the role of Nrf2 and its medicated antioxidant response in arsenic carcinogenesis is vital to prevention and treatment of cancers related to arsenic exposure.