1 4897 131 OXIDATIVE STRESS IN ALCOHOL-RELATED LIVER DISEASE. ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION IS ONE OF THE LEADING CAUSES OF THE GLOBAL BURDEN OF DISEASE AND RESULTS IN HIGH HEALTHCARE AND ECONOMIC COSTS. HEAVY ALCOHOL MISUSE LEADS TO ALCOHOL-RELATED LIVER DISEASE, WHICH IS RESPONSIBLE FOR A SIGNIFICANT PROPORTION OF ALCOHOL-ATTRIBUTABLE DEATHS GLOBALLY. OTHER THAN REDUCING ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION, THERE ARE CURRENTLY NO EFFECTIVE TREATMENTS FOR ALCOHOL-RELATED LIVER DISEASE. OXIDATIVE STRESS REFERS TO AN IMBALANCE IN THE PRODUCTION AND ELIMINATION OF REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES AND ANTIOXIDANTS. IT PLAYS IMPORTANT ROLES IN SEVERAL ASPECTS OF ALCOHOL-RELATED LIVER DISEASE PATHOGENESIS. HERE, WE REVIEW HOW CHRONIC ALCOHOL USE RESULTS IN OXIDATIVE STRESS THROUGH INCREASED METABOLISM VIA THE CYTOCHROME P450 2E1 SYSTEM PRODUCING REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES, ACETALDEHYDE AND PROTEIN AND DNA ADDUCTS. THESE TRIGGER INFLAMMATORY SIGNALING PATHWAYS WITHIN THE LIVER LEADING TO EXPRESSION OF PRO-INFLAMMATORY MEDIATORS CAUSING HEPATOCYTE APOPTOSIS AND NECROSIS. REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES EXPOSURE ALSO RESULTS IN MITOCHONDRIAL STRESS WITHIN HEPATOCYTES CAUSING STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL DYSREGULATION OF MITOCHONDRIA AND UPREGULATING APOPTOTIC SIGNALING. THERE IS ALSO EVIDENCE THAT OXIDATIVE STRESS AS WELL AS THE DIRECT EFFECT OF ALCOHOL INFLUENCES EPIGENETIC REGULATION. INCREASED GLOBAL HISTONE METHYLATION AND ACETYLATION AND SPECIFIC HISTONE ACETYLATION INHIBITS ANTIOXIDANT RESPONSES AND PROMOTES EXPRESSION OF KEY PRO-INFLAMMATORY GENES. THIS REVIEW HIGHLIGHTS ASPECTS OF THE ROLE OF OXIDATIVE STRESS IN DISEASE PATHOGENESIS THAT WARRANT FURTHER STUDY INCLUDING MITOCHONDRIAL STRESS AND EPIGENETIC REGULATION. IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING OF THESE PROCESSES MAY IDENTIFY NOVEL TARGETS FOR THERAPY. 2020 2 4898 43 OXIDATIVE STRESS INDUCED LUNG CANCER AND COPD: OPPORTUNITIES FOR EPIGENETIC THERAPY. REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES (ROS) FORM AS A NATURAL BY-PRODUCT OF THE NORMAL METABOLISM OF OXYGEN AND PLAY IMPORTANT ROLES WITHIN THE CELL. UNDER NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES THE CELL IS ABLE TO MAINTAIN AN ADEQUATE HOMEOSTASIS BETWEEN THE FORMATION OF ROS AND ITS REMOVAL THROUGH PARTICULAR ENZYMATIC PATHWAYS OR VIA ANTIOXIDANTS. IF HOWEVER, THIS BALANCE IS DISTURBED A SITUATION CALLED OXIDATIVE STRESS OCCURS. CRITICALLY, OXIDATIVE STRESS PLAYS IMPORTANT ROLES IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF MANY DISEASES, INCLUDING CANCER. EPIGENETICS IS A PROCESS WHERE GENE EXPRESSION IS REGULATED BY HERITABLE MECHANISMS THAT DO NOT CAUSE ANY DIRECT CHANGES TO THE DNA SEQUENCE ITSELF, AND DISRUPTION OF EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS HAS IMPORTANT IMPLICATIONS IN DISEASE. EVIDENCE IS EMERGING THAT HISTONE DEACETYLASES (HDACS) PLAY DECISIVE ROLES IN REGULATING IMPORTANT CELLULAR OXIDATIVE STRESS PATHWAYS INCLUDING THOSE INVOLVED WITH SENSING OXIDATIVE STRESS AND THOSE INVOLVED WITH REGULATING THE CELLULAR RESPONSE TO OXIDATIVE STRESS. IN PARTICULAR ABERRANT REGULATION OF THESE PATHWAYS BY HDACS MAY PLAY CRITICAL ROLES IN CANCER PROGRESSION. IN THIS REVIEW WE DISCUSS THE CURRENT EVIDENCE LINKING EPIGENETICS AND OXIDATIVE STRESS AND CANCER, USING CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE AND NON-SMALL CELL LUNG CANCER TO ILLUSTRATE THE IMPORTANCE OF EPIGENETICS ON THESE PATHWAYS WITHIN THESE DISEASE SETTINGS. 2009 3 318 48 ALCOHOL-INDUCED EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN CANCER. CHRONIC, HEAVY ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION IS ASSOCIATED WITH SERIOUS NEGATIVE HEALTH EFFECTS, INCLUDING THE DEVELOPMENT OF SEVERAL CANCER TYPES. ONE OF THE PATHWAYS AFFECTED BY ALCOHOL TOXICITY IS THE ONE-CARBON METABOLISM. THE ALCOHOL-INDUCED IMPAIRMENT OF THIS METABOLIC PATHWAY RESULTS IN EPIGENETIC CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH CANCER DEVELOPMENT. THESE EPIGENETIC CHANGES ARE INDUCED BY FOLATE DEFICIENCY AND BY PRODUCTS OF THE ETHANOL METABOLISM. THE CHANGES INDUCED BY LONG-TERM HEAVY ETHANOL CONSUMPTION RESULT IN ELEVATIONS OF HOMOCYSTEINE AND S-ADENOSYL-HOMOCYSTEINE (SAH) AND REDUCTIONS IN S-ADENOSYLMETHIONINE (SAM) AND ANTIOXIDANT GLUTATHIONE (GSH) LEVELS, LEADING TO ABNORMAL PROMOTER GENE HYPERMETHYLATION, GLOBAL HYPOMETHYLATION, AND METABOLIC INSUFFICIENCY OF ANTIOXIDANT DEFENSE MECHANISMS. IN ADDITION, REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES (ROS) GENERATED DURING THE ETHANOL METABOLISM INDUCE ALTERATIONS IN DNA METHYLATION PATTERNS THAT PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN CANCER DEVELOPMENT. SPECIFIC EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN ESOPHAGEAL, HEPATIC, AND COLORECTAL CANCERS HAVE BEEN DETECTED IN BLOOD SAMPLES AND PROPOSED TO BE USED CLINICALLY AS EPIGENETIC BIOMARKERS FOR DIAGNOSIS AND PROGNOSIS OF THESE CANCERS. ALSO, GENETIC VARIANTS OF GENES INVOLVED IN ONE-CARBON METABOLISM AND ETHANOL METABOLISM WERE FOUND TO MODULATE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ALCOHOL-INDUCED EPIGENETIC CHANGES AND CANCER RISK. FURTHERMORE, ALCOHOL METABOLISM PRODUCTS HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH AN INCREASE IN NADH LEVELS, WHICH LEAD TO HISTONE MODIFICATIONS AND CHANGES IN GENE EXPRESSION THAT IN TURN INFLUENCE CANCER SUSCEPTIBILITY. CHRONIC EXCESSIVE USE OF ALCOHOL ALSO AFFECTS SELECTED MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY OF MICRORNAS, AND AS MIRNAS COULD ACT AS EPIGENETIC REGULATORS, THIS MAY PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN CARCINOGENESIS. IN CONCLUSION, TARGETING ALCOHOL-INDUCED EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN SEVERAL CANCER TYPES COULD MAKE AVAILABLE CLINICAL TOOLS FOR THE DIAGNOSIS, PROGNOSIS, AND TREATMENT OF THESE CANCERS, WITH AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN PRECISION MEDICINE. 2018 4 5943 41 TARGETING OXIDATIVE STRESS IN CANCER. IMPORTANCE OF THE FIELD: REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES (ROS) OCCUR AS NATURAL BY-PRODUCTS OF OXYGEN METABOLISM AND HAVE IMPORTANT CELLULAR FUNCTIONS. NORMALLY, THE CELL IS ABLE TO MAINTAIN AN ADEQUATE BALANCE BETWEEN THE FORMATION AND REMOVAL OF ROS EITHER VIA ANTI-OXIDANTS OR THROUGH THE USE SPECIFIC ENZYMATIC PATHWAYS. HOWEVER, IF THIS BALANCE IS DISTURBED, OXIDATIVE STRESS MAY OCCUR IN THE CELL, A SITUATION LINKED TO THE PATHOGENESIS OF MANY DISEASES, INCLUDING CANCER. AREAS COVERED IN THIS REVIEW: HDACS ARE IMPORTANT REGULATORS OF MANY OXIDATIVE STRESS PATHWAYS INCLUDING THOSE INVOLVED WITH BOTH SENSING AND COORDINATING THE CELLULAR RESPONSE TO OXIDATIVE STRESS. IN PARTICULAR ABERRANT REGULATION OF THESE PATHWAYS BY HISTONE DEACETYLASES MAY PLAY CRITICAL ROLES IN CANCER PROGRESSION. WHAT THE READER WILL GAIN: IN THIS REVIEW WE DISCUSS THE NOTION THAT TARGETING HDACS MAY BE A USEFUL THERAPEUTIC AVENUE IN THE TREATMENT OF OXIDATIVE STRESS IN CANCER, USING CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD), NSCLC AND HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA (HCC) AS EXAMPLES TO ILLUSTRATE THIS POSSIBILITY. TAKE HOME MESSAGE: EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS MAY BE AN IMPORTANT NEW THERAPEUTIC AVENUE FOR TARGETING OXIDATIVE STRESS IN CANCER. 2010 5 2104 42 EPIGENETIC EVENTS IN LIVER CANCER RESULTING FROM ALCOHOLIC LIVER DISEASE. EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS PLAY AN EXTENSIVE ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF LIVER CANCER (I.E., HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA [HCC]) ASSOCIATED WITH ALCOHOLIC LIVER DISEASE (ALD) AS WELL AS IN LIVER DISEASE ASSOCIATED WITH OTHER CONDITIONS. FOR EXAMPLE, EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS, SUCH AS CHANGES IN THE METHYLATION AND/OR ACETYLATION PATTERN OF CERTAIN DNA REGIONS OR OF THE HISTONE PROTEINS AROUND WHICH THE DNA IS WRAPPED, CONTRIBUTE TO THE REVERSION OF NORMAL LIVER CELLS INTO PROGENITOR AND STEM CELLS THAT CAN DEVELOP INTO HCC. CHRONIC EXPOSURE TO BEVERAGE ALCOHOL (I.E., ETHANOL) CAN INDUCE ALL OF THESE EPIGENETIC CHANGES. THUS, ETHANOL METABOLISM RESULTS IN THE FORMATION OF COMPOUNDS THAT CAN CAUSE CHANGES IN DNA METHYLATION AND INTERFERE WITH OTHER COMPONENTS OF THE NORMAL PROCESSES REGULATING DNA METHYLATION. ALCOHOL EXPOSURE ALSO CAN ALTER HISTONE ACETYLATION/DEACETYLATION AND METHYLATION PATTERNS THROUGH A VARIETY OF MECHANISMS AND SIGNALING PATHWAYS. ALCOHOL ALSO ACTS INDIRECTLY ON ANOTHER MOLECULE CALLED TOLL-LIKE RECEPTOR 4 (TLR4) THAT IS A KEY COMPONENT IN A CRUCIAL REGULATORY PATHWAY IN THE CELLS AND WHOSE DYSREGULATION IS INVOLVED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF HCC. FINALLY, ALCOHOL USE REGULATES AN EPIGENETIC MECHANISM INVOLVING SMALL MOLECULES CALLED MIRNAS THAT CONTROL TRANSCRIPTIONAL EVENTS AND THE EXPRESSION OF GENES IMPORTANT TO ALD. 2013 6 3837 36 IONIZING RADIATION-INDUCED OXIDATIVE STRESS, EPIGENETIC CHANGES AND GENOMIC INSTABILITY: THE PIVOTAL ROLE OF MITOCHONDRIA. PURPOSE: TO REVIEW THE DATA CONCERNING THE ROLE OF ENDOGENOUSLY GENERATED REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES (ROS) IN THE NON-TARGETED IONIZING RADIATION (IR) EFFECTS AND IN DETERMINATION OF THE CELL POPULATION'S FATE, BOTH EARLY AFTER EXPOSURE AND AFTER MANY GENERATIONS. CONCLUSIONS: THE SHORT-TERM AS WELL AS CHRONIC OXIDATIVE STRESS RESPONSES MAINLY ARE PRODUCED DUE TO ROS GENERATION BY THE ELECTRON TRANSPORT CHAIN (ETC) OF THE MITOCHONDRIA AND BY THE CYTOPLASMIC NADPH OXIDASES. WHETHER THE INDUCTION OF THE OXIDATIVE STRESS AND ITS CONSEQUENCES OCCUR OR ARE HAMPERED IN A SINGLE CELL LARGELY DEPENDS ON THE INTERACTION BETWEEN THE NUCLEUS AND THE CELLULAR POPULATION OF SEVERAL HUNDRED OR THOUSANDS OF MITOCHONDRIA THAT ARE GENETICALLY HETEROGENEOUS. HIGH INTRA-MITOCHONDRIAL ROS LEVEL IS DAMAGING THE MITOCHONDRIAL (MT) DNA AND ITS MUTATIONS AFFECT THE EPIGENETIC CONTROL MECHANISMS OF THE NUCLEAR (N) DNA, BY DECREASING THE ACTIVITY OF METHYLTRANSFERASES AND THUS, CAUSING GLOBAL DNA HYPOMETHYLATION. THESE CHANGES ARE TRANSMITTED TO THE PROGENY OF THE IRRADIATED CELLS. THE CHRONIC OXIDATIVE STRESS IS THE MAIN CAUSE OF THE LATE POST-RADIATION EFFECTS, INCLUDING CANCER, AND THIS MAKES IT AN IMPORTANT ADVERSE EFFECT OF EXPOSURE TO IR AND A TARGET FOR RADIOLOGICAL PROTECTION. 2015 7 4372 38 MIRNAS, OXIDATIVE STRESS, AND CANCER: A COMPREHENSIVE AND UPDATED REVIEW. OXIDATIVE STRESS REFERS TO ELEVATED LEVELS OF INTRACELLULAR REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES (ROS). ROS HOMEOSTASIS FUNCTIONS AS A SIGNALING PATHWAY FOR NORMAL CELL SURVIVAL AND APPROPRIATE CELL SIGNALING. CHRONIC INFLAMMATION INDUCED BY IMBALANCED LEVELS OF ROS CONTRIBUTES TO MANY DISEASES AND DIFFERENT TYPES OF CANCER. ROS CAN ALTER THE EXPRESSION OF ONCOGENES AND TUMOR SUPPRESSOR GENES THROUGH EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS, TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS, AND NON-CODING RNAS. MICRORNAS (MIRNAS) ARE SMALL NON-CODING RNAS THAT PLAY A KEY ROLE IN MOST BIOLOGICAL PATHWAYS. EACH MIRNA REGULATES HUNDREDS OF TARGET GENES BY INHIBITING PROTEIN TRANSLATION AND/OR PROMOTING MESSENGER RNA DEGRADATION. IN NORMAL CONDITIONS, MIRNAS PLAY A PHYSIOLOGICAL ROLE IN CELL PROLIFERATION, DIFFERENTIATION, AND APOPTOSIS. HOWEVER, DIFFERENT FACTORS THAT CAN DYSREGULATE CELL SIGNALING AND CELLULAR HOMEOSTASIS CAN ALSO AFFECT MIRNA EXPRESSION. THE ALTERATION OF MIRNA EXPRESSION CAN WORK AGAINST DISTURBING FACTORS OR MEDIATE THEIR EFFECTS. OXIDATIVE STRESS IS ONE OF THESE FACTORS. CONSIDERING THE COMPLEX INTERPLAY BETWEEN ROS LEVEL AND MIRNA REGULATION AND BOTH OF THESE WITH CANCER DEVELOPMENT, WE REVIEW THE ROLE OF MIRNAS IN CANCER, FOCUSING ON THEIR FUNCTION IN OXIDATIVE STRESS. 2020 8 4705 47 NLRP3: A NEW THERAPEUTIC TARGET IN ALCOHOLIC LIVER DISEASE. THE LIVER IS IN CHARGE OF A WIDE RANGE OF CRITICAL PHYSIOLOGICAL PROCESSES AND IT PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN ACTIVATING THE INNATE IMMUNE SYSTEM WHICH ELICITS THE INFLAMMATORY EVENTS. CHRONIC ETHANOL EXPOSURE DISRUPTS HEPATIC INFLAMMATORY MECHANISM AND LEADS TO THE RELEASE OF PROINFLAMMATORY MEDIATORS SUCH AS CHEMOKINES, CYTOKINES AND ACTIVATION OF INFLAMMASOMES. THE MECHANISM OF LIVER FIBROSIS/CIRRHOSIS INVOLVE ACTIVATION OF NLRP3 INFLAMMASOME, LEADING TO THE DESTRUCTION OF HEPATOCYTES AND SUBSEQUENT METABOLIC DYSREGULATION IN HUMANS. IN ADDITION, INCREASING EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT ALCOHOL INTAKE SIGNIFICANTLY MODIFIES LIVER EPIGENETICS, PROMOTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF ALCOHOLIC LIVER DISEASE (ALD). EPIGENETIC CHANGES INCLUDING HISTONE MODIFICATION, MICRORNA-INDUCED GENETIC MODULATION, AND DNA METHYLATION ARE CRUCIAL IN ALCOHOL-EVOKED CELL SIGNALING THAT AFFECTS GENE EXPRESSION IN THE HEPATIC SYSTEM. THOUGH WE ARE AT THE BEGINNING STAGE WITHOUT HAVING THE ENTIRE PRINT OF EPIGENETIC SIGNATURE, IT IS TIME TO FOCUS MORE ON NLRP3 INFLAMMASOME AND EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS. HERE WE REVIEW THE NOVEL ASPECT OF ALD PATHOLOGY LINKING TO INFLAMMATION AND HIGHLIGHTING THE ROLE OF EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION ASSOCIATED WITH NLRP3 INFLAMMASOME AND HOW IT COULD BE A THERAPEUTIC TARGET IN ALD. 2023 9 2456 38 EPIGENETIC TARGETS FOR REVERSING IMMUNE DEFECTS CAUSED BY ALCOHOL EXPOSURE. ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION ALTERS FACTORS THAT MODIFY GENE EXPRESSION WITHOUT CHANGING THE DNA CODE (I.E., EPIGENETIC MODULATORS) IN MANY ORGAN SYSTEMS, INCLUDING THE IMMUNE SYSTEM. ALCOHOL ENHANCES THE RISK FOR DEVELOPING SEVERAL SERIOUS MEDICAL CONDITIONS RELATED TO IMMUNE SYSTEM DYSFUNCTION, INCLUDING ACUTE RESPIRATORY DISTRESS SYNDROME (ARDS), LIVER CANCER, AND ALCOHOLIC LIVER DISEASE (ALD). BINGE AND CHRONIC DRINKING ALSO RENDER PATIENTS MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO MANY INFECTIOUS PATHOGENS AND ADVANCE THE PROGRESSION OF HIV INFECTION BY WEAKENING BOTH INNATE AND ADAPTIVE IMMUNITY. EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS PLAY A PIVOTAL ROLE IN THESE PROCESSES. FOR EXAMPLE, ALCOHOL-INDUCED EPIGENETIC VARIATIONS ALTER THE DEVELOPMENTAL PATHWAYS OF SEVERAL TYPES OF IMMUNE CELLS (E.G., GRANULOCYTES, MACROPHAGES, AND T-LYMPHOCYTES) AND THROUGH THESE AND OTHER MECHANISMS PROMOTE EXAGGERATED INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES. IN ADDITION, EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS MAY UNDERLIE ALCOHOL'S ABILITY TO INTERFERE WITH THE BARRIER FUNCTIONS OF THE GUT AND RESPIRATORY SYSTEMS, WHICH ALSO CONTRIBUTE TO THE HEIGHTENED RISK OF INFECTIONS. BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF ALCOHOL'S EFFECTS ON THESE EPIGENETIC PROCESSES MAY HELP RESEARCHERS IDENTIFY NEW TARGETS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF NOVEL MEDICATIONS TO PREVENT OR AMELIORATE ALCOHOL'S DETRIMENTAL EFFECTS ON THE IMMUNE SYSTEM. 2013 10 315 41 ALCOHOL, DNA METHYLATION, AND CANCER. CANCER IS ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DISEASES ASSOCIATED WITH CHRONIC ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION, AND CHRONIC DRINKING IS A STRONG RISK FACTOR FOR CANCER, PARTICULARLY OF THE UPPER AERODIGESTIVE TRACT, LIVER, COLORECTUM, AND BREAST. SEVERAL FACTORS CONTRIBUTE TO ALCOHOL-INDUCED CANCER DEVELOPMENT (I.E., CARCINOGENESIS), INCLUDING THE ACTIONS OF ACETALDEHYDE, THE FIRST AND PRIMARY METABOLITE OF ETHANOL, AND OXIDATIVE STRESS. HOWEVER, INCREASING EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT ABERRANT PATTERNS OF DNA METHYLATION, AN IMPORTANT EPIGENETIC MECHANISM OF TRANSCRIPTIONAL CONTROL, ALSO COULD BE PART OF THE PATHOGENETIC MECHANISMS THAT LEAD TO ALCOHOL-INDUCED CANCER DEVELOPMENT. THE EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL ON GLOBAL AND LOCAL DNA METHYLATION PATTERNS LIKELY ARE MEDIATED BY ITS ABILITY TO INTERFERE WITH THE AVAILABILITY OF THE PRINCIPAL BIOLOGICAL METHYL DONOR, S-ADENOSYLMETHIONINE (SAME), AS WELL AS PATHWAYS RELATED TO IT. SEVERAL MECHANISMS MAY MEDIATE THE EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL ON DNA METHYLATION, INCLUDING REDUCED FOLATE LEVELS AND INHIBITION OF KEY ENZYMES IN ONE-CARBON METABOLISM THAT ULTIMATELY LEAD TO LOWER SAME LEVELS, AS WELL AS INHIBITION OF ACTIVITY AND EXPRESSION OF ENZYMES INVOLVED IN DNA METHYLATION (I.E., DNA METHYLTRANSFERASES). FINALLY, VARIATIONS (I.E., POLYMORPHISMS) OF SEVERAL GENES INVOLVED IN ONE-CARBON METABOLISM ALSO MODULATE THE RISK OF ALCOHOL-ASSOCIATED CARCINOGENESIS. 2013 11 6865 34 [OXIDATIVE STRESS IN PROSTATE HYPERTROPHY AND CARCINOGENESIS]. AGING, SIGNIFICANT IMPAIRMENT OF THE OXIDATION/REDUCTION BALANCE, INFECTION, AND INFLAMMATION ARE RECOGNIZED RISK FACTORS OF BENIGN HYPERPLASIA AND PROSTATE CANCER. CHRONIC SYMPTOMATIC AND ASYMPTOMATIC PROSTATE INFLAMMATORY PROCESSES GENERATE SIGNIFICANTLY ELEVATED LEVELS OF REACTIVE OXYGEN AND NITROGEN SPECIES, AND HALOGENATED COMPOUNDS. PROSTATE CANCER PATIENTS SHOWED SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER LIPID PEROXIDATION AND LOWER ANTIOXIDANT LEVELS IN PERIPHERAL BLOOD THAN HEALTHY CONTROLS, WHEREAS PATIENTS WITH PROSTATE HYPERPLASIA DID NOT SHOW SUCH SYMPTOMS. OXIDATIVE/NITROSATIVE/HALOGENATIVE STRESS CAUSES DNA MODIFICATIONS LEADING TO GENOME INSTABILITY THAT MAY INITIATE CARCINOGENESIS; HOWEVER, IT WAS SHOWN THAT OXIDATIVE DAMAGE ALONE IS NOT SUFFICIENT TO INITIATE THIS PROCESS. PEROXIDATION PRODUCTS INDUCED BY REACTIVE OXYGEN AND NITROGEN SPECIES SEEM TO TAKE PART IN EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS REGULATING GENOME ACTIVITY. ONE OF THE MOST COMMON CHANGES OCCURRING IN MORE THAN 90% OF ALL ANALYZED PROSTATE CANCERS IS THE SILENCING OF GSTP1 GENE ACTIVITY. THE GENE ENCODES GLUTATHIONE TRANSFERASE, AN ENZYME PARTICIPATING IN DETOXIFICATION PROCESSES. PROSTATE HYPERPLASIA IS OFTEN ACCOMPANIED BY CHRONIC INFLAMMATION AND SUCH A RELATIONSHIP WAS NOT OBSERVED IN PROSTATE CANCER. THE PARTICIPATION OF INFECTION AND INFLAMMATION IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF HYPERPLASIA IS UNQUESTIONABLE AND THESE FACTORS PROBABLY ALSO TAKE PART IN INITIATING THE EARLY STAGES OF PROSTATE CARCINOGENESIS. THUS IT SEEMS THAT THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES THAT PREVENT GENOME OXIDATIVE DAMAGE IN SITUATIONS INVOLVING OXIDATIVE/NITROSATIVE/HALOGENATIVE STRESS, I.E. USE OF ANTIOXIDANTS, PLANT STEROIDS, ANTIBIOTICS, AND NON-STEROIDAL ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DRUGS, COULD HELP PREVENT CARCINOGENESIS. 2009 12 860 36 CHROMATIN MODIFICATIONS DURING REPAIR OF ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE-INDUCED DNA DAMAGE: A POTENTIAL MECHANISM FOR STABLE EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS. EXPOSURES TO ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICANTS AND TOXINS CAUSE EPIGENETIC CHANGES THAT LIKELY PLAY A ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF DISEASES ASSOCIATED WITH EXPOSURE. THE MECHANISM BEHIND THESE EXPOSURE-INDUCED EPIGENETIC CHANGES IS CURRENTLY UNKNOWN. ONE COMMONALITY BETWEEN MOST ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURES IS THAT THEY CAUSE DNA DAMAGE EITHER DIRECTLY OR THROUGH CAUSING AN INCREASE IN REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES, WHICH CAN DAMAGE DNA. LIKE TRANSCRIPTION, DNA DAMAGE REPAIR MUST OCCUR IN THE CONTEXT OF CHROMATIN REQUIRING BOTH HISTONE MODIFICATIONS AND ATP-DEPENDENT CHROMATIN REMODELING. THESE CHROMATIN CHANGES AID IN DNA DAMAGE ACCESSIBILITY AND SIGNALING. SEVERAL PROTEINS AND COMPLEXES INVOLVED IN EPIGENETIC SILENCING DURING BOTH DEVELOPMENT AND CANCER HAVE BEEN FOUND TO BE LOCALIZED TO SITES OF DNA DAMAGE. THE CHROMATIN-BASED RESPONSE TO DNA DAMAGE IS CONSIDERED A TRANSIENT EVENT, WITH CHROMATIN BEING RESTORED TO NORMAL AS DNA DAMAGE REPAIR IS COMPLETED. HOWEVER, IN INDIVIDUALS CHRONICALLY EXPOSED TO ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICANTS OR WITH CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASE, REPEATED DNA DAMAGE-INDUCED CHROMATIN REARRANGEMENT MAY ULTIMATELY LEAD TO PERMANENT EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS. UNDERSTANDING THE MECHANISM BEHIND EXPOSURE-INDUCED EPIGENETIC CHANGES WILL ALLOW US TO DEVELOP STRATEGIES TO PREVENT OR REVERSE THESE CHANGES. THIS REVIEW FOCUSES ON EPIGENETIC CHANGES AND DNA DAMAGE INDUCED BY ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURES, THE CHROMATIN CHANGES THAT OCCUR AROUND SITES OF DNA DAMAGE, AND HOW THESE TRANSIENT CHROMATIN CHANGES MAY LEAD TO HERITABLE EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS AT SITES OF CHRONIC EXPOSURE. 2014 13 6100 40 THE EMERGING ROLE OF EPIGENETIC MODIFIERS IN REPAIR OF DNA DAMAGE ASSOCIATED WITH CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASES. AT SITES OF CHRONIC INFLAMMATION EPITHELIAL CELLS ARE EXPOSED TO HIGH LEVELS OF REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES (ROS), WHICH CAN CONTRIBUTE TO THE INITIATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF MANY DIFFERENT HUMAN CANCERS. ABERRANT EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS THAT CAUSE TRANSCRIPTIONAL SILENCING OF TUMOR SUPPRESSOR GENES ARE ALSO IMPLICATED IN MANY DISEASES ASSOCIATED WITH INFLAMMATION, INCLUDING CANCER. HOWEVER, IT IS NOT CLEAR HOW ALTERED EPIGENETIC GENE SILENCING IS INITIATED DURING CHRONIC INFLAMMATION. THE HIGH LEVEL OF ROS AT SITES OF INFLAMMATION IS KNOWN TO INDUCE OXIDATIVE DNA DAMAGE IN SURROUNDING EPITHELIAL CELLS. FURTHERMORE, DNA DAMAGE IS KNOWN TO TRIGGER SEVERAL RESPONSES, INCLUDING RECRUITMENT OF DNA REPAIR PROTEINS, TRANSCRIPTIONAL REPRESSION, CHROMATIN MODIFICATIONS AND OTHER CELL SIGNALING EVENTS. RECRUITMENT OF EPIGENETIC MODIFIERS TO CHROMATIN IN RESPONSE TO DNA DAMAGE RESULTS IN TRANSIENT COVALENT MODIFICATIONS TO CHROMATIN SUCH AS HISTONE UBIQUITINATION, ACETYLATION AND METHYLATION AND DNA METHYLATION. DNA DAMAGE ALSO ALTERS NON-CODING RNA EXPRESSION. ALL OF THESE ALTERATIONS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO ALTER GENE EXPRESSION AT SITES OF DAMAGE. TYPICALLY, THESE MODIFICATIONS AND GENE TRANSCRIPTION ARE RESTORED BACK TO NORMAL ONCE THE REPAIR OF THE DNA DAMAGE IS COMPLETED. HOWEVER, CHRONIC INFLAMMATION MAY INDUCE SUSTAINED DNA DAMAGE AND DNA DAMAGE RESPONSES THAT RESULT IN THESE TRANSIENT COVALENT CHROMATIN MODIFICATIONS BECOMING MITOTICALLY STABLE EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS. UNDERSTANDING HOW EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS ARE INITIATED DURING CHRONIC INFLAMMATION WILL ALLOW US TO DEVELOP PHARMACEUTICAL STRATEGIES TO PREVENT OR TREAT CHRONIC INFLAMMATION-INDUCED CANCER. THIS REVIEW WILL FOCUS ON TYPES OF DNA DAMAGE AND EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASES, THE TYPES OF DNA DAMAGE AND TRANSIENT COVALENT CHROMATIN MODIFICATIONS INDUCED BY INFLAMMATION AND OXIDATIVE DNA DAMAGE AND HOW THESE MODIFICATIONS MAY RESULT IN EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS. 2019 14 313 35 ALCOHOL METABOLISM AND EPIGENETICS CHANGES. METABOLITES, INCLUDING THOSE GENERATED DURING ETHANOL METABOLISM, CAN IMPACT DISEASE STATES BY BINDING TO TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS AND/OR MODIFYING CHROMATIN STRUCTURE, THEREBY ALTERING GENE EXPRESSION PATTERNS. FOR EXAMPLE, THE ACTIVITIES OF ENZYMES INVOLVED IN EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS SUCH AS DNA AND HISTONE METHYLATION AND HISTONE ACETYLATION, ARE INFLUENCED BY THE LEVELS OF METABOLITES SUCH AS NICOTINAMIDE ADENINE DINUCLEOTIDE (NAD), ADENOSINE TRIPHOSPHATE (ATP), AND S-ADENOSYLMETHIONINE (SAM). CHRONIC ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION LEADS TO SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS IN SAM LEVELS, THEREBY CONTRIBUTING TO DNA HYPOMETHYLATION. SIMILARLY, ETHANOL METABOLISM ALTERS THE RATIO OF NAD+ TO REDUCED NAD (NADH) AND PROMOTES THE FORMATION OF REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES AND ACETATE, ALL OF WHICH IMPACT EPIGENETIC REGULATORY MECHANISMS. IN ADDITION TO ALTERED CARBOHYDRATE METABOLISM, INDUCTION OF CELL DEATH, AND CHANGES IN MITOCHONDRIAL PERMEABILITY TRANSITION, THESE METABOLISM-RELATED CHANGES CAN LEAD TO MODULATION OF EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF GENE EXPRESSION. UNDERSTANDING THE NATURE OF THESE EPIGENETIC CHANGES WILL HELP RESEARCHERS DESIGN NOVEL MEDICATIONS TO TREAT OR AT LEAST AMELIORATE ALCOHOL-INDUCED ORGAN DAMAGE. 2013 15 6387 29 THE ROLE OF REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES IN ARSENIC TOXICITY. ARSENIC POISONING IS A GLOBAL HEALTH PROBLEM. CHRONIC EXPOSURE TO ARSENIC HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF A WIDE RANGE OF DISEASES AND HEALTH PROBLEMS IN HUMANS. ARSENIC EXPOSURE INDUCES THE GENERATION OF INTRACELLULAR REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES (ROS), WHICH MEDIATE MULTIPLE CHANGES TO CELL BEHAVIOR BY ALTERING SIGNALING PATHWAYS AND EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS, OR CAUSE DIRECT OXIDATIVE DAMAGE TO MOLECULES. ANTIOXIDANTS WITH THE POTENTIAL TO REDUCE ROS LEVELS HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO AMELIORATE ARSENIC-INDUCED LESIONS. HOWEVER, EMERGING EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT CONSTRUCTIVE ACTIVATION OF ANTIOXIDATIVE PATHWAYS AND DECREASED ROS LEVELS CONTRIBUTE TO CHRONIC ARSENIC TOXICITY IN SOME CASES. THIS REVIEW DETAILS THE PATHWAYS INVOLVED IN ARSENIC-INDUCED REDOX IMBALANCE, AS WELL AS CURRENT STUDIES ON PROPHYLAXIS AND TREATMENT STRATEGIES USING ANTIOXIDANTS. 2020 16 6399 36 THE ROLES AND MECHANISMS OF ACTIONS OF VITAMIN C IN BONE: NEW DEVELOPMENTS. VITAMIN C IS AN IMPORTANT ANTIOXIDANT AND COFACTOR THAT IS INVOLVED IN THE REGULATION OF DEVELOPMENT, FUNCTION, AND MAINTENANCE OF SEVERAL CELL TYPES IN THE BODY. DEFICIENCIES IN VITAMIN C CAN LEAD TO CONDITIONS SUCH AS SCURVY, WHICH, AMONG OTHER AILMENTS, CAUSES GINGIVIA, BONE PAIN, AND IMPAIRED WOUND HEALING. THIS REVIEW EXAMINES THE FUNCTIONAL IMPORTANCE OF VITAMIN C AS IT RELATES TO THE DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF BONE TISSUES. ANALYSIS OF SEVERAL EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES AND GENETIC MOUSE MODELS REGARDING THE EFFECT OF VITAMIN C SHOWS A POSITIVE EFFECT ON BONE HEALTH. OVERALL, VITAMIN C EXERTS A POSITIVE EFFECT ON TRABECULAR BONE FORMATION BY INFLUENCING EXPRESSION OF BONE MATRIX GENES IN OSTEOBLASTS. RECENT STUDIES ON THE MOLECULAR PATHWAY FOR VITAMIN C ACTIONS THAT INCLUDE DIRECT EFFECTS OF VITAMIN C ON TRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATION OF TARGET GENES BY INFLUENCING THE ACTIVITY OF TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS AND BY EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION OF KEY GENES INVOLVED IN SKELETAL DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTENANCE ARE DISCUSSED. WITH AN UNDERSTANDING OF MECHANISMS INVOLVED IN THE UPTAKE AND METABOLISM OF VITAMIN C AND KNOWLEDGE OF PRECISE MOLECULAR PATHWAYS FOR VITAMIN C ACTIONS IN BONE CELLS, IT IS POSSIBLE THAT NOVEL THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES CAN BE DEVELOPED OR EXISTING THERAPIES CAN BE MODIFIED FOR THE TREATMENT OF OSTEOPOROTIC FRACTURES. 2015 17 4453 38 MOLECULAR MECHANISMS AND PATHWAYS AS TARGETS FOR CANCER PREVENTION AND PROGRESSION WITH DIETARY COMPOUNDS. A UNIQUE FEATURE OF BIOACTIVE FOOD INGREDIENTS IS THEIR BROAD ANTIOXIDANT FUNCTION. ANTIOXIDANTS HAVING A WIDE SPECTRUM OF CHEMICAL STRUCTURE AND ACTIVITY BEYOND BASIC NUTRITION; DISPLAY DIFFERENT HEALTH BENEFITS BY THE PREVENTION AND PROGRESSION OF CHRONIC DISEASES. FUNCTIONAL FOOD COMPONENTS ARE CAPABLE OF ENHANCING THE NATURAL ANTIOXIDANT DEFENSE SYSTEM BY SCAVENGING REACTIVE OXYGEN AND NITROGEN SPECIES, PROTECTING AND REPAIRING DNA DAMAGE, AS WELL AS MODULATING THE SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION PATHWAYS AND GENE EXPRESSION. MAJOR PATHWAYS AFFECTED BY BIOACTIVE FOOD INGREDIENTS INCLUDE THE PRO-INFLAMMATORY PATHWAYS REGULATED BY NUCLEAR FACTOR KAPPA B (NF-KAPPAB), AS WELL AS THOSE ASSOCIATED WITH CYTOKINES AND CHEMOKINES. THE PRESENT REVIEW SUMMARIZES THE IMPORTANCE OF PLANT BIOACTIVES AND THEIR ROLES IN THE REGULATION OF INFLAMMATORY PATHWAYS. BIOACTIVES INFLUENCE SEVERAL PHYSIOLOGICAL PROCESSES SUCH AS GENE EXPRESSION, CELL CYCLE REGULATION, CELL PROLIFERATION, CELL MIGRATION, ETC., RESULTING IN CANCER PREVENTION. CANCER INITIATION IS ASSOCIATED WITH CHANGES IN METABOLIC PATHWAYS SUCH AS GLUCOSE METABOLISM, AND THE EFFECT OF BIOACTIVES IN NORMALIZING THIS PROCESS HAS BEEN PROVIDED. INITIATION AND PROGRESSION OF INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASES (IBD) WHICH INCREASE THE CHANCES OF DEVELOPING OF COLORECTAL CANCERS CAN BE DOWNREGULATED BY PLANT BIOACTIVES. SEVERAL ASPECTS OF THE POTENTIAL ROLES OF MICRORNAS AND EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CANCERS HAVE ALSO BEEN PRESENTED. 2017 18 6520 44 TRANSCRIPTIONAL AND EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF MONOCYTE AND MACROPHAGE DYSFUNCTION BY CHRONIC ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION. DRINKING ALCOHOL, EVEN IN MODERATION, CAN AFFECT THE IMMUNE SYSTEM. STUDIES HAVE SHOWN DISPROPORTIONATE EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL ON CIRCULATING AND TISSUE-RESIDENT MYELOID CELLS (GRANULOCYTES, MONOCYTES, MACROPHAGES, DENDRITIC CELLS). THESE CELLS ORCHESTRATE THE BODY'S FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE AGAINST MICROBIAL CHALLENGES AS WELL AS MAINTAIN TISSUE HOMEOSTASIS AND REPAIR. ALCOHOL'S EFFECTS ON THESE CELLS ARE DEPENDENT ON EXPOSURE PATTERN, WITH ACUTE DRINKING DAMPENING BUT CHRONIC DRINKING ENHANCING PRODUCTION OF INFLAMMATORY MEDIATORS. ALTHOUGH CHRONIC DRINKING IS ASSOCIATED WITH HEIGHTENED SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATION, STUDIES ON TISSUE RESIDENT MACROPHAGE POPULATIONS IN SEVERAL ORGANS INCLUDING THE SPLEEN, LIVER, BRAIN, AND LUNG HAVE ALSO SHOWN COMPROMISED FUNCTIONAL AND METABOLIC CAPACITIES OF THESE CELLS. MANY OF THESE EFFECTS ARE THOUGHT TO BE MEDIATED BY OXIDATIVE STRESS CAUSED BY ALCOHOL AND ITS METABOLITES WHICH CAN DIRECTLY IMPACT THE CELLULAR EPIGENETIC LANDSCAPES. IN ADDITION, SINCE MYELOID CELLS ARE RELATIVELY SHORT-LIVED IN CIRCULATION AND ARE UNDER CONSTANT REPOPULATION FROM THE BONE MARROW COMPARTMENT, ALCOHOL'S EFFECTS ON BONE MARROW PROGENITORS AND HEMATOPOIESIS ARE IMPORTANT FOR UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT OF ALCOHOL SYSTEMICALLY ON THESE MYELOID POPULATIONS. ALCOHOL-INDUCED DISRUPTION OF PROGENITOR, CIRCULATING, AND TISSUE RESIDENT MYELOID POPULATIONS CONTRIBUTE TO THE INCREASED SUSCEPTIBILITY OF PATIENTS WITH ALCOHOL USE DISORDERS TO VIRAL AND BACTERIAL INFECTIONS. IN THIS REVIEW, WE PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF THE IMPACT OF CHRONIC ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION ON THE FUNCTION OF MONOCYTES AND MACROPHAGES IN HOST DEFENSE, TISSUE REPAIR AND INFLAMMATION. WE THEN SUMMARIZE OUR CURRENT UNDERSTANDING OF THE MECHANISMS UNDERLYING ALCOHOL-INDUCED DISRUPTION AND EXAMINE CHANGES IN TRANSCRIPTOME AND EPIGENOME OF MONOCYTES AND MCROPHAGES. OVERALL, CHRONIC ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION LEADS TO HYPER-INFLAMMATION CONCOMITANT WITH DECREASED MICROBIAL AND WOUND HEALING RESPONSES BY MONOCYTES/MACROPHAGES DUE TO A REWIRING OF THE EPIGENTIC AND TRANSCRIPTIONAL LANDSCAPE. HOWEVER, IN ADVANCED ALCOHOLIC LIVER DISEASE, MYELOID CELLS BECOME IMMUNOSUPPRESSED AS A RESPONSE TO THE SURROUNDING HYPER-INFLAMMATORY MILIEU. THEREFORE, THE EFFECT OF CHRONIC ALCOHOL ON THE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE DEPENDS ON DISEASE STATE AND THE IMMUNE CELL POPULATION. 2022 19 4768 38 NUCLEAR EFFECTS OF ETHANOL-INDUCED PROTEASOME INHIBITION IN LIVER CELLS. ALCOHOL INGESTION CAUSES ALTERATION IN SEVERAL CELLULAR MECHANISMS, AND LEADS TO INFLAMMATION, APOPTOSIS, IMMUNOLOGICAL RESPONSE DEFECTS, AND FIBROSIS. THESE PHENOMENA ARE ASSOCIATED WITH SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THE EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS, AND SUBSEQUENTLY, TO LIVER CELL MEMORY. THE UBIQUITIN-PROTEASOME PATHWAY IS ONE OF THE VITAL PATHWAYS IN THE CELL THAT BECOMES DYSFUNCTIONAL AS A RESULT OF CHRONIC ETHANOL CONSUMPTION. INHIBITION OF THE PROTEASOME ACTIVITY IN THE NUCLEUS CAUSES CHANGES IN THE TURNOVER OF TRANSCRIPTIONAL FACTORS, HISTONE MODIFYING ENZYMES, AND THEREFORE, AFFECTS EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS. ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH AN INCREASE IN HISTONE ACETYLATION AND A DECREASE IN HISTONE METHYLATION, WHICH LEADS TO GENE EXPRESSION CHANGES. DNA AND HISTONE MODIFICATIONS THAT RESULT FROM ETHANOL-INDUCED PROTEASOME INHIBITION ARE KEY PLAYERS IN REGULATING GENE EXPRESSION, ESPECIALLY GENES INVOLVED IN THE CELL CYCLE, IMMUNOLOGICAL RESPONSES, AND METABOLISM OF ETHANOL. THE PRESENT REVIEW HIGHLIGHTS THE CONSEQUENCES OF ETHANOL-INDUCED PROTEASOME INHIBITION IN THE NUCLEUS OF LIVER CELLS THAT ARE CHRONICALLY EXPOSED TO ETHANOL. 2009 20 3921 42 LINKING INFLAMMATION TO CELL CYCLE PROGRESSION. RISK OF GASTROINTESTINAL CANCERS IS CLOSELY RELATED TO INCREASED LEVELS OF OXIDANTS IN THE BALANCE BETWEEN OXIDANT AND ANTI-OXIDANT AGENTS. A POSSIBLE EXPLANATION OF THIS EPIDEMIOLOGICAL OBSERVATION IS THE LOCAL LOSS OF THE EPITHELIAL BARRIER FUNCTION WITH A FOCAL INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE. ACCORDINGLY, CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASES REPRESENT WELL-KNOWN RISK FACTORS FOR CANCER AND, ON THE OTHER HAND, IT IS KNOWN THAT ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AGENTS, DEMULCENTS AND ANTIOXIDANTS MARKEDLY INHIBIT THE DEVELOPMENT OF COLON CANCER IN ANIMAL MODELS AS WELL IN HUMANS. AT MOLECULAR LEVEL A KEY ROLE IN THE PROCESS THAT LINK INFLAMMATION TO CELLULAR TRANSFORMATION SEEMS TO BE PLAYED BY ACTIVATION OF CYCLOOXYGENASE-2 (COX-2) TOGETHER WITH PRODUCTION OF REACTIVE OXYGEN INTERMEDIATE (ROI). BOTH THESE EVENTS HAVE BEEN STRICTLY LINKED WITH CELL PROLIFERATION AND TRANSFORMATION, ALTHOUGH THE INTRACELLULAR PATHWAYS INVOLVED IN THESE PROCESSES ARE STILL NOT COMPLETELY UNDERSTOOD. THE UNCONTROLLED PROLIFERATION, WHICH IS A LANDMARK OF CELLULAR TRANSFORMATION, IS ACCOMPANIED BY THE DEREGULATION OF PROTEINS INVOLVED IN THE CONTROL OF CELL CYCLE CHECKPOINTS. ALTERED EXPRESSION AND FUNCTION OF CYCLOOXYGENASE AND NITRIC OXIDE SYNTHASE SEEM TO INFLUENCE, AMONG OTHERS, THE EXPRESSION OF PROTEINS INVOLVED IN THE REGULATION OF CELL CYCLE PROGRESSION. SIMILARLY, ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AND ANTIOXIDANT AGENTS MAY ALSO ACT ON THE EXPRESSION AND FUNCTION OF SEVERAL CELL CYCLE REGULATING PROTEINS. UNDERSTANDING THE MECHANISMS BY WHICH CHRONIC INFLAMMATION CONTRIBUTES TO GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC CHANGES INVOLVED IN THE REGULATION OF CRITICAL CELL CYCLE CHECKPOINTS MAY HELP TO DEVELOP MORE AND MORE SPECIFIC TREATMENT STRATEGIES FOR REDUCING MALIGNANT TRANSFORMATION OF THESE INFLAMMATORY DISEASES. 2004