1 5826 118 STRESS SIGNAL NETWORK BETWEEN HYPOXIA AND ER STRESS IN CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE. CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE (CKD) IS CHARACTERIZED BY AN IRREVERSIBLE DECREASE IN KIDNEY FUNCTION AND INDUCTION OF VARIOUS METABOLIC DYSFUNCTIONS. ACCUMULATED FINDINGS REVEAL THAT CHRONIC HYPOXIC STRESS AND ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM (ER) STRESS ARE INVOLVED IN A RANGE OF PATHOGENIC CONDITIONS, INCLUDING THE PROGRESSION OF CKD. BECAUSE OF THE PRESENCE OF AN ARTERIOVENOUS OXYGEN SHUNT, THE KIDNEY IS THOUGHT TO BE SUSCEPTIBLE TO HYPOXIA. CHRONIC KIDNEY HYPOXIA IS INDUCED BY A NUMBER OF PATHOGENIC CONDITIONS, INCLUDING RENAL ISCHEMIA, REDUCED PERITUBULAR CAPILLARY, AND TUBULOINTERSTITIAL FIBROSIS. THE ER IS AN ORGANELLE WHICH HELPS MAINTAIN THE QUALITY OF PROTEINS THROUGH THE UNFOLDED PROTEIN RESPONSE (UPR) PATHWAY, AND ER DYSFUNCTION ASSOCIATED WITH MALADAPTIVE UPR ACTIVATION IS NAMED ER STRESS. ER STRESS IS REPORTED TO BE RELATED TO SOME OF THE EFFECTS OF PATHOGENESIS IN KIDNEY, PARTICULARLY IN THE PODOCYTE SLIT DIAPHRAGM AND TUBULOINTERSTITIUM. FURTHERMORE, CHRONIC HYPOXIA MEDIATES ER STRESS IN BLOOD VESSEL ENDOTHELIAL CELLS AND TUBULOINTERSTITIUM VIA SEVERAL MECHANISMS, INCLUDING OXIDATIVE STRESS, EPIGENETIC ALTERATION, LIPID METABOLISM, AND THE AKT PATHWAY. IN SUMMARY, A GROWING CONSENSUS CONSIDERS THAT THESE STRESSES INTERACT VIA COMPLICATED STRESS SIGNAL NETWORKS, WHICH LEADS TO THE EXACERBATION OF CKD (FIGURE 1). THIS STRESS SIGNAL NETWORK MIGHT BE A TARGET FOR INTERVENTIONS AIMED AT AMELIORATING CKD. 2017 2 4351 28 MIR-199A-5P SILENCING REGULATES THE UNFOLDED PROTEIN RESPONSE IN CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE AND ALPHA1-ANTITRYPSIN DEFICIENCY. RATIONALE: RETENTION OF ABNORMAL ALPHA1-ANTITRYPSIN (AAT) ACTIVATES THE UNFOLDED PROTEIN RESPONSE IN AAT-DEFICIENT MONOCYTES. THE REGULATORY ROLE OF MICRORNAS (MIRNAS) IN UNFOLDED PROTEIN RESPONSES AND CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE PATHOGENESIS HAS NOT BEEN INVESTIGATED. OBJECTIVES: TO INVESTIGATE MIRNA EXPRESSION AND FUNCTION IN MM AND ZZ MONOCYTES AND IDENTIFY MIRNA(S) REGULATING THE UNFOLDED PROTEIN RESPONSE. METHODS: PERIPHERAL BLOOD MONOCYTES WERE ISOLATED FROM ASYMPTOMATIC AND SYMPTOMATIC MM AND ZZ INDIVIDUALS FOR MIRNA EXPRESSION PROFILING AND PYROSEQUENCING ANALYSIS. MIRNA/GENE AND PROTEIN EXPRESSION WAS MEASURED WITH QUANTITATIVE POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION AND WESTERN BLOTTING. OVEREXPRESSION AND INHIBITION STUDIES WERE PERFORMED WITH PRE-MIR OR ANTI-MIR, RESPECTIVELY. LUCIFERASE REPORTER GENES WERE USED TO ELUCIDATE DIRECT MIRNA-TARGET INTERACTIONS. INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES WERE DETECTED USING THE MESO SCALE DISCOVERY PLEX ASSAYS. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: FORTY-THREE MIRNAS WERE DIFFERENTIALLY EXPRESSED, WITH MIR-199A-5P MOST HIGHLY UP-REGULATED IN ASYMPTOMATIC ZZ VERSUS MM MONOCYTES. MIR-199A-2 PROMOTER HYPERMETHYLATION INHIBITS MIR-199A-5P EXPRESSION AND WAS INCREASED IN SYMPTOMATIC MM AND ZZ MONOCYTES COMPARED WITH ASYMPTOMATIC COUNTERPARTS. GRP78, ACTIVATING TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR 6, P50, AND P65 WERE INCREASED IN SYMPTOMATIC VERSUS ASYMPTOMATIC ZZ MONOCYTES. RECIPROCAL DOWN- OR UP-REGULATION OF THESE MARKERS WAS OBSERVED AFTER MIRNA MODULATION. DIRECT MIR-199A-5P TARGETING OF ACTIVATING TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR 6, P50, AND P65 BY MIR-199A-5P WAS DEMONSTRATED USING LUCIFERASE REPORTER SYSTEMS. OVEREXPRESSION OF MIR-199A-5P ALSO DECREASED OTHER ARMS OF THE UPR AND EXPRESSION OF CYTOKINES THAT ARE NOT PUTATIVE TARGETS. CONCLUSIONS: MIR-199A-5P IS A KEY REGULATOR OF THE UNFOLDED PROTEIN RESPONSE IN AAT-DEFICIENT MONOCYTES, AND EPIGENETIC SILENCING OF ITS EXPRESSION REGULATES THIS PROCESS IN CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE. 2014 3 6403 31 THE ROLES OF INDUCIBLE CHROMATIN AND TRANSCRIPTIONAL MEMORY IN CELLULAR DEFENSE SYSTEM RESPONSES TO REDOX-ACTIVE POLLUTANTS. PEOPLE ARE EXPOSED TO WIDE RANGE OF REDOX-ACTIVE ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTANTS. AIR POLLUTION, HEAVY METALS, PESTICIDES, AND ENDOCRINE DISRUPTING CHEMICALS CAN DISRUPT CELLULAR REDOX STATUS. REDOX-ACTIVE POLLUTANTS IN OUR ENVIRONMENT ALL TRIGGER THEIR OWN SETS OF SPECIFIC CELLULAR RESPONSES, BUT THEY ALSO ACTIVATE A COMMON SET OF GENERAL STRESS RESPONSES THAT BUFFER THE CELL AGAINST HOMEOSTATIC INSULTS. THESE CELLULAR DEFENSE SYSTEM (CDS) PATHWAYS INCLUDE THE HEAT SHOCK RESPONSE, THE OXIDATIVE STRESS RESPONSE, THE HYPOXIA RESPONSE, THE UNFOLDED PROTEIN RESPONSE, THE DNA DAMAGE RESPONSE, AND THE GENERAL STRESS RESPONSE MEDIATED BY THE STRESS-ACTIVATED P38 MITOGEN-ACTIVATED PROTEIN KINASE. OVER THE PAST TWO DECADES, THE FIELD OF ENVIRONMENTAL EPIGENETICS HAS INVESTIGATED EPIGENETIC RESPONSES TO ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTANTS, INCLUDING REDOX-ACTIVE POLLUTANTS. STUDIES OF THESE RESPONSES HIGHLIGHT THE ROLE OF CHROMATIN MODIFICATIONS IN CONTROLLING THE TRANSCRIPTIONAL RESPONSE TO POLLUTANTS AND THE ROLE OF TRANSCRIPTIONAL MEMORY, OFTEN REFERRED TO AS "EPIGENETIC REPROGRAMMING", IN PREDISPOSING PREVIOUSLY EXPOSED INDIVIDUALS TO MORE POTENT TRANSCRIPTIONAL RESPONSES ON SECONDARY CHALLENGE. MY CENTRAL THESIS IN THIS REVIEW IS THAT HIGH DOSE OR CHRONIC EXPOSURE TO REDOX-ACTIVE POLLUTANTS LEADS TO TRANSCRIPTIONAL MEMORIES AT CDS TARGET GENES THAT INFLUENCE THE CELL'S ABILITY TO MOUNT PROTECTIVE RESPONSES. TO SUPPORT THIS THESIS, I WILL: (1) SUMMARIZE THE KNOWN CHROMATIN FEATURES REQUIRED FOR INDUCIBLE GENE ACTIVATION; (2) REVIEW THE KNOWN FORMS OF TRANSCRIPTIONAL MEMORY; (3) DISCUSS THE ROLES OF INDUCIBLE CHROMATIN AND TRANSCRIPTIONAL MEMORY IN CDS RESPONSES THAT ARE ACTIVATED BY REDOX-ACTIVE ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTANTS; AND (4) PROPOSE A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR CDS PATHWAY RESPONSIVENESS AS A READOUT OF TOTAL CELLULAR EXPOSURE TO REDOX-ACTIVE POLLUTANTS. 2021 4 5046 36 PHARMACOLOGICAL AND DIETARY ANTIOXIDANT THERAPIES FOR CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE. THE PROGRESSION AND EXACERBATIONS OF CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD) ARE INTIMATELY ASSOCIATED WITH TOBACCO SMOKE/BIOMASS FUEL-INDUCED OXIDATIVE AND ALDEHYDE/CARBONYL STRESS. ALTERATIONS IN REDOX SIGNALING PROINFLAMMATORY KINASES AND TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS, STEROID RESISTANCE, UNFOLDED PROTEIN RESPONSE, MUCUS HYPERSECRETION, EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX REMODELING, AUTOPHAGY/APOPTOSIS, EPIGENETIC CHANGES, CELLULAR SENESCENCE/AGING, ENDOTHELIAL DYSFUNCTION, AUTOIMMUNITY, AND SKELETAL MUSCLE DYSFUNCTION ARE SOME OF THE PATHOLOGICAL HALLMARKS OF COPD. IN LIGHT OF THE ABOVE IT WOULD BE PRUDENT TO TARGET SYSTEMIC AND LOCAL OXIDATIVE STRESS WITH AGENTS THAT CAN MODULATE THE ANTIOXIDANTS/ REDOX SYSTEM OR BY BOOSTING THE ENDOGENOUS LEVELS OF ANTIOXIDANTS FOR THE TREATMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF COPD. IDENTIFICATION OF VARIOUS ANTIOXIDANT AGENTS, SUCH AS THIOL MOLECULES (GLUTATHIONE AND MUCOLYTIC DRUGS, SUCH AS N-ACETYL-L-CYSTEINE, N-ACYSTELYN, ERDOSTEINE, FUDOSTEINE, ERGOTHIONEINE, AND CARBOCYSTEINE LYSINE SALT), DIETARY NATURAL PRODUCT-DERIVED POLYPHENOLS AND OTHER COMPOUNDS (CURCUMIN, RESVERATROL, GREEN TEA CATECHINS, QUERCETIN SULFORAPHANE, LYCOPENE, ACAI, ALPHA-LIPOIC ACID, TOCOTRIENOLS, AND APOCYNIN) HAVE MADE IT POSSIBLE TO MODULATE VARIOUS BIOCHEMICAL ASPECTS OF COPD. VARIOUS RESEARCHES AND CLINICAL TRIALS HAVE REVEALED THAT THESE ANTIOXIDANTS CAN DETOXIFY FREE RADICALS AND OXIDANTS, CONTROL EXPRESSION OF REDOX AND GLUTATHIONE BIOSYNTHESIS GENES, CHROMATIN REMODELING, AND ULTIMATELY INFLAMMATORY GENE EXPRESSION. IN ADDITION, MODULATION OF CIGARETTE SMOKE-INDUCED OXIDATIVE STRESS AND RELATED CELLULAR CHANGES HAVE ALSO BEEN REPORTED TO BE EFFECTED BY SYNTHETIC MOLECULES. THIS INCLUDES SPECIFIC SPIN TRAPS LIKE ALPHA-PHENYL-N-TERT-BUTYL NITRONE, A CATALYTIC ANTIOXIDANT (ECSOD MIMETIC), PORPHYRINS (AEOL 10150 AND AEOL 10113), AND A SUPEROXIDE DISMUTASE MIMETIC M40419, LIPID PEROXIDATION AND PROTEIN CARBONYLATION BLOCKERS/INHIBITORS, SUCH AS EDARAVONE AND LAZAROIDS/TIRILAZAD, MYELOPEROXIDASE INHIBITORS, AS WELL AS SPECIALIZED PRO-RESOLVING MEDIATORS/INFLAMMATORY RESOLVING LIPID MEDIATORS, OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS, VITAMIN D, AND HYDROGEN SULFIDE. ACCORDING TO VARIOUS STUDIES IT APPEARS THAT THE ADMINISTRATION OF MULTIPLE ANTIOXIDANTS COULD BE A MORE EFFECTIVE MODE USED IN THE TREATMENT OF COPD. IN THIS REVIEW, VARIOUS PHARMACOLOGICAL AND DIETARY APPROACHES TO ENHANCE LUNG ANTIOXIDANT LEVELS AND BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF ANTIOXIDANT THERAPEUTICS IN TREATING OR INTERVENING THE PROGRESSION OF COPD HAVE BEEN DISCUSSED. 2013 5 1244 27 CURRENT CONCEPTS ON OXIDATIVE/CARBONYL STRESS, INFLAMMATION AND EPIGENETICS IN PATHOGENESIS OF CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE. CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD) IS A GLOBAL HEALTH PROBLEM. THE CURRENT THERAPIES FOR COPD ARE POORLY EFFECTIVE AND THE MAINSTAYS OF PHARMACOTHERAPY ARE BRONCHODILATORS. A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE PATHOBIOLOGY OF COPD IS CRITICAL FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF NOVEL THERAPIES. IN THE PRESENT REVIEW, WE HAVE DISCUSSED THE ROLES OF OXIDATIVE/ALDEHYDE STRESS, INFLAMMATION/IMMUNITY, AND CHROMATIN REMODELING IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF COPD. AN IMBALANCE OF OXIDANTS/ANTIOXIDANTS CAUSED BY CIGARETTE SMOKE AND OTHER POLLUTANTS/BIOMASS FUELS PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF COPD BY REGULATING REDOX-SENSITIVE TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS (E.G., NF-KAPPAB), AUTOPHAGY AND UNFOLDED PROTEIN RESPONSE LEADING TO CHRONIC LUNG INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE. CIGARETTE SMOKE ALSO ACTIVATES CANONICAL/ALTERNATIVE NF-KAPPAB PATHWAYS AND THEIR UPSTREAM KINASES LEADING TO SUSTAINED INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE IN LUNGS. RECENTLY, EPIGENETIC REGULATION HAS BEEN SHOWN TO BE CRITICAL FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF COPD BECAUSE THE EXPRESSION/ACTIVITY OF ENZYMES THAT REGULATE THESE EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS HAVE BEEN REPORTED TO BE ABNORMAL IN AIRWAYS OF COPD PATIENTS. HENCE, THE SIGNIFICANT ADVANCES MADE IN UNDERSTANDING THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF COPD AS DESCRIBED HEREIN WILL IDENTIFY NOVEL THERAPEUTIC TARGETS FOR INTERVENTION IN COPD. 2011 6 5033 33 PESTICIDES AND HUMAN CHRONIC DISEASES: EVIDENCES, MECHANISMS, AND PERSPECTIVES. ALONG WITH THE WIDE USE OF PESTICIDES IN THE WORLD, THE CONCERNS OVER THEIR HEALTH IMPACTS ARE RAPIDLY GROWING. THERE IS A HUGE BODY OF EVIDENCE ON THE RELATION BETWEEN EXPOSURE TO PESTICIDES AND ELEVATED RATE OF CHRONIC DISEASES SUCH AS DIFFERENT TYPES OF CANCERS, DIABETES, NEURODEGENERATIVE DISORDERS LIKE PARKINSON, ALZHEIMER, AND AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS (ALS), BIRTH DEFECTS, AND REPRODUCTIVE DISORDERS. THERE IS ALSO CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE ON THE ASSOCIATION OF EXPOSURE TO PESTICIDES WITH SOME OTHER CHRONIC DISEASES LIKE RESPIRATORY PROBLEMS, PARTICULARLY ASTHMA AND CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD), CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE SUCH AS ATHEROSCLEROSIS AND CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE, CHRONIC NEPHROPATHIES, AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES LIKE SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOUS AND RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS, CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME, AND AGING. THE COMMON FEATURE OF CHRONIC DISORDERS IS A DISTURBANCE IN CELLULAR HOMEOSTASIS, WHICH CAN BE INDUCED VIA PESTICIDES' PRIMARY ACTION LIKE PERTURBATION OF ION CHANNELS, ENZYMES, RECEPTORS, ETC., OR CAN AS WELL BE MEDIATED VIA PATHWAYS OTHER THAN THE MAIN MECHANISM. IN THIS REVIEW, WE PRESENT THE HIGHLIGHTED EVIDENCE ON THE ASSOCIATION OF PESTICIDE'S EXPOSURE WITH THE INCIDENCE OF CHRONIC DISEASES AND INTRODUCE GENETIC DAMAGES, EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS, ENDOCRINE DISRUPTION, MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION, OXIDATIVE STRESS, ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM STRESS AND UNFOLDED PROTEIN RESPONSE (UPR), IMPAIRMENT OF UBIQUITIN PROTEASOME SYSTEM, AND DEFECTIVE AUTOPHAGY AS THE EFFECTIVE MECHANISMS OF ACTION. 2013 7 6665 34 UPSTREAM AND DOWNSTREAM REGULATORS OF KLOTHO EXPRESSION IN CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE. KLOTHO IS A CRITICAL PROTEIN THAT PROTECTS THE KIDNEY. KLOTHO IS SEVERELY DOWNREGULATED IN CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE (CKD), AND ITS DEFICIENCY IS IMPLICATED IN THE PATHOGENESIS AND PROGRESSION OF CKD. CONVERSELY, AN INCREASE IN KLOTHO LEVELS RESULTS IN IMPROVED KIDNEY FUNCTION AND DELAYS CKD PROGRESSION, SUPPORTING THE NOTION THAT MODULATING KLOTHO LEVELS COULD REPRESENT A POSSIBLE THERAPEUTIC STRATEGY FOR CKD TREATMENT. NEVERTHELESS, THE REGULATORY MECHANISMS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE LOSS OF KLOTHO REMAIN ELUSIVE. PREVIOUS STUDIES HAVE DEMONSTRATED THAT OXIDATIVE STRESS, INFLAMMATION, AND EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS CAN MODULATE KLOTHO LEVELS. THESE MECHANISMS RESULT IN A DECREASE IN KLOTHO MRNA TRANSCRIPT LEVELS AND REDUCED TRANSLATION, THUS CAN BE GROUPED TOGETHER AS UPSTREAM REGULATORY MECHANISMS. HOWEVER, THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES THAT AIM TO RESCUE KLOTHO LEVELS BY TARGETING THESE UPSTREAM MECHANISMS DO NOT ALWAYS RESULT IN INCREASED KLOTHO, INDICATING THE INVOLVEMENT OF OTHER REGULATORY MECHANISMS. EMERGING EVIDENCE HAS SHOWN THAT ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM (ER) STRESS, THE UNFOLDED PROTEIN RESPONSE, AND ER-ASSOCIATED DEGRADATION ALSO AFFECT THE MODIFICATION, TRANSLOCATION, AND DEGRADATION OF KLOTHO, AND THUS ARE PROPOSED TO BE DOWNSTREAM REGULATORY MECHANISMS. HERE, WE DISCUSS THE CURRENT UNDERSTANDING OF UPSTREAM AND DOWNSTREAM REGULATORY MECHANISMS OF KLOTHO AND EXAMINE POTENTIAL THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES TO UPREGULATE KLOTHO EXPRESSION FOR CKD TREATMENT. 2023 8 6705 29 VHL INACTIVATION IN PRECANCEROUS KIDNEY CELLS INDUCES AN INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE VIA ER STRESS-ACTIVATED IRE1ALPHA SIGNALING. MUTATIONS AND EPIGENETIC INACTIVATION OF THE TUMOR SUPPRESSOR GENE VON HIPPEL-LINDAU (VHL) ARE MAJOR CAUSES OF CLEAR-CELL RENAL CELL CARCINOMA (CCRCC) THAT MAY ORIGINATE FROM CHRONIC INFLAMMATION. HOWEVER, THE ROLE OF VHL LOSS OF FUNCTION IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CCRCC VIA INFLAMMATION REMAINS POORLY UNDERSTOOD. VHL-MUTANT CELLS EXHIBIT METABOLIC ABNORMALITIES THAT CAN CAUSE CHRONIC ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM (ER) STRESS AND UNFOLDED PROTEIN RESPONSE. WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT UNRESOLVED ER STRESS INDUCES THE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES OBSERVED IN CCRCC. ER STRESS MARKERS INCLUDING BIP AND XBP1S WERE SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED IN CULTURED AND PRIMARY VHL LOSS-OF-FUNCTION KIDNEY CELLS. IN EPITHELIAL CELLS, THE KINASE ACTIVITY OF IRE1ALPHA WAS REQUIRED FOR THE INDUCTION OF NF-KAPPAB AND JNK AND FOR THE RECRUITMENT OF MACROPHAGES. IRE1ALPHA KINASE ACTIVITY WAS ALSO IMPORTANT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF FIBROTIC PHENOTYPE IN CONDITIONAL VHLH KNOCKOUT MICE. OUR RESULTS OFFER INSIGHTS INTO THE THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL AGAINST CCRCC DEVELOPMENT BY RELIEVING METABOLIC STRESS. SUCH CANCER PREVENTION STRATEGY MAY BE CRITICAL FOR HIGH-RISK COHORTS SUCH AS THE FAMILIAL VHL DISEASE PATIENTS. CANCER RES; 77(13); 3406-16. (C)2017 AACR. 2017 9 4954 21 PATHOGENESIS OF CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE. THE PATHOGENESIS OF CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD) ENCOMPASSES A NUMBER OF INJURIOUS PROCESSES, INCLUDING AN ABNORMAL INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE IN THE LUNGS TO INHALED PARTICLES AND GASES. OTHER PROCESSES, SUCH AS FAILURE TO RESOLVE INFLAMMATION, ABNORMAL CELL REPAIR, APOPTOSIS, ABNORMAL CELLULAR MAINTENANCE PROGRAMS, EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX DESTRUCTION (PROTEASE/ANTIPROTEASE IMBALANCE), AND OXIDATIVE STRESS (OXIDANT/ANTIOXIDANT IMBALANCE) ALSO HAVE A ROLE. THE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES TO THE INHALATION OF ACTIVE AND PASSIVE TOBACCO SMOKE AND URBAN AND RURAL AIR POLLUTION ARE MODIFIED BY GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC FACTORS. THE SUBSEQUENT CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES LEAD TO MUCUS HYPERSECRETION, AIRWAY REMODELING, AND ALVEOLAR DESTRUCTION. THIS ARTICLE PROVIDES AN UPDATE ON THE CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF THESE PROCESSES IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF COPD. 2007 10 4211 37 METFORMIN FOR CARDIOVASCULAR PROTECTION, INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE, OSTEOPOROSIS, PERIODONTITIS, POLYCYSTIC OVARIAN SYNDROME, NEURODEGENERATION, CANCER, INFLAMMATION AND SENESCENCE: WHAT IS NEXT? DIABETES IS ACCOMPANIED BY SEVERAL COMPLICATIONS. HIGHER PREVALENCE OF CANCERS, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES, CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE (CKD), OBESITY, OSTEOPOROSIS, AND NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES HAS BEEN REPORTED AMONG PATIENTS WITH DIABETES. METFORMIN IS THE OLDEST ORAL ANTIDIABETIC DRUG AND CAN IMPROVE COEXISTING COMPLICATIONS OF DIABETES. CLINICAL TRIALS AND OBSERVATIONAL STUDIES UNCOVERED THAT METFORMIN CAN REMARKABLY PREVENT OR ALLEVIATE CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES, OBESITY, POLYCYSTIC OVARIAN SYNDROME (PCOS), OSTEOPOROSIS, CANCER, PERIODONTITIS, NEURONAL DAMAGE AND NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES, INFLAMMATION, INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE (IBD), TUBERCULOSIS, AND COVID-19. IN ADDITION, METFORMIN HAS BEEN PROPOSED AS AN ANTIAGING AGENT. NUMEROUS MECHANISMS WERE SHOWN TO BE INVOLVED IN THE PROTECTIVE EFFECTS OF METFORMIN. METFORMIN ACTIVATES THE LKB1/AMPK PATHWAY TO INTERACT WITH SEVERAL INTRACELLULAR SIGNALING PATHWAYS AND MOLECULAR MECHANISMS. THE DRUG MODIFIES THE BIOLOGIC FUNCTION OF NF-KAPPAB, PI3K/AKT/MTOR, SIRT1/PGC-1ALPHA, NLRP3, ERK, P38 MAPK, WNT/BETA-CATENIN, NRF2, JNK, AND OTHER MAJOR MOLECULES IN THE INTRACELLULAR SIGNALING NETWORK. IT ALSO REGULATES THE EXPRESSION OF NONCODING RNAS. THEREBY, METFORMIN CAN REGULATE METABOLISM, GROWTH, PROLIFERATION, INFLAMMATION, TUMORIGENESIS, AND SENESCENCE. ADDITIONALLY, METFORMIN MODULATES IMMUNE RESPONSE, AUTOPHAGY, MITOPHAGY, ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM (ER) STRESS, AND APOPTOSIS AND EXERTS EPIGENETIC EFFECTS. FURTHERMORE, METFORMIN PROTECTS AGAINST OXIDATIVE STRESS AND GENOMIC INSTABILITY, PRESERVES TELOMERE LENGTH, AND PREVENTS STEM CELL EXHAUSTION. IN THIS REVIEW, THE PROTECTIVE EFFECTS OF METFORMIN ON EACH DISEASE WILL BE DISCUSSED USING THE RESULTS OF RECENT META-ANALYSES, CLINICAL TRIALS, AND OBSERVATIONAL STUDIES. THEREAFTER, IT WILL BE METICULOUSLY EXPLAINED HOW METFORMIN REPROGRAMS INTRACELLULAR SIGNALING PATHWAYS AND ALTERS MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR INTERACTIONS TO MODIFY THE CLINICAL PRESENTATIONS OF SEVERAL DISEASES. 2021 11 616 28 BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS IN OXIDATIVE STRESS-MEDIATED DISEASES: TARGETING THE NRF2/ARE SIGNALING PATHWAY AND EPIGENETIC REGULATION. OXIDATIVE STRESS IS A PATHOLOGICAL CONDITION OCCURRING DUE TO AN IMBALANCE BETWEEN THE OXIDANTS AND ANTIOXIDANT DEFENSE SYSTEMS IN THE BODY. NUCLEAR FACTOR E2-RELATED FACTOR 2 (NRF2), ENCODED BY THE GENE NFE2L2, IS THE MASTER REGULATOR OF PHASE II ANTIOXIDANT ENZYMES THAT PROTECT AGAINST OXIDATIVE STRESS AND INFLAMMATION. NRF2/ARE SIGNALING HAS BEEN CONSIDERED AS A PROMISING TARGET AGAINST OXIDATIVE STRESS-MEDIATED DISEASES LIKE DIABETES, FIBROSIS, NEUROTOXICITY, AND CANCER. THE CONSUMPTION OF DIETARY PHYTOCHEMICALS ACTS AS AN EFFECTIVE MODULATOR OF NRF2/ARE IN VARIOUS ACUTE AND CHRONIC DISEASES. IN THE PRESENT REVIEW, WE DISCUSSED THE ROLE OF NRF2 IN DIABETES, ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD), PARKINSON'S DISEASE (PD), CANCER, AND ATHEROSCLEROSIS. ADDITIONALLY, WE DISCUSSED THE PHYTOCHEMICALS LIKE CURCUMIN, QUERCETIN, RESVERATROL, EPIGALLOCATECHIN GALLATE, APIGENIN, SULFORAPHANE, AND URSOLIC ACID THAT HAVE EFFECTIVELY MODIFIED NRF2 SIGNALING AND PREVENTED VARIOUS DISEASES IN BOTH IN VITRO AND IN VIVO MODELS. BASED ON THE LITERATURE, IT IS CLEAR THAT DIETARY PHYTOCHEMICALS CAN PREVENT DISEASES BY (1) BLOCKING OXIDATIVE STRESS-INHIBITING INFLAMMATORY MEDIATORS THROUGH INHIBITING KEAP1 OR ACTIVATING NRF2 EXPRESSION AND ITS DOWNSTREAM TARGETS IN THE NUCLEUS, INCLUDING HO-1, SOD, AND CAT; (2) REGULATING NRF2 SIGNALING BY VARIOUS KINASES LIKE GSK3BETA, PI3/AKT, AND MAPK; AND (3) MODIFYING EPIGENETIC MODULATION, SUCH AS METHYLATION, AT THE NRF2 PROMOTER REGION; HOWEVER, FURTHER INVESTIGATION INTO OTHER UPSTREAM SIGNALING MOLECULES LIKE NRF2 AND THE EFFECT OF PHYTOCHEMICALS ON THEM STILL NEED TO BE INVESTIGATED IN THE NEAR FUTURE. 2021 12 5322 23 PULMONARY DISEASES AND AGEING. CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD) AND IDIOPATHIC PULMONARY FIBROSIS ARE REGARDED AS A DISEASES OF ACCELERATED LUNG AGEING AND SHOW ALL OF THE HALLMARKS OF AGEING, INCLUDING TELOMERE SHORTENING, CELLULAR SENESCENCE, ACTIVATION OF PI3 KINASE-MTOR SIGNALING, IMPAIRED AUTOPHAGY, MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION, STEM CELL EXHAUSTION, EPIGENETIC CHANGES, ABNORMAL MICRORNA PROFILES, IMMUNOSENESCENCE AND A LOW GRADE CHRONIC INFLAMMATION DUE TO SENESCENCE-ASSOCIATED SECRETORY PHENOTYPE (SASP). MANY OF THESE AGEING MECHANISMS ARE DRIVEN BY EXOGENOUS AND ENDOGENOUS OXIDATIVE STRESS. THERE IS ALSO A REDUCTION IN ANTI-AGEING MOLECULES, SUCH AS SIRTUINS AND KLOTHO, WHICH FURTHER ACCELERATE THE AGEING PROCESS. UNDERSTANDING THESE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS HAS IDENTIFIED SEVERAL NOVEL THERAPEUTIC TARGETS AND SEVERAL DRUGS AND DIETARY INTERVENTIONS ARE NOW IN DEVELOPMENT TO TREAT CHRONIC LUNG DISEASE. 2019 13 4902 33 OXIDATIVE-STRESS-INDUCED EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN CHRONIC DIABETIC COMPLICATIONS. OXIDATIVE STRESS PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRESSION OF CHRONIC DIABETIC COMPLICATIONS. DIABETES CAUSES MITOCHONDRIAL SUPEROXIDE OVERPRODUCTION IN THE ENDOTHELIAL CELLS OF BOTH LARGE AND SMALL VESSELS. THIS INCREASED SUPEROXIDE PRODUCTION CAUSES THE ACTIVATION OF SEVERAL SIGNAL PATHWAYS INVOLVED IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF CHRONIC COMPLICATIONS. IN PARTICULAR, ENDOTHELIAL CELLS ARE MAJOR TARGETS OF GLUCOSE-INDUCED OXIDATIVE DAMAGE IN THE TARGET ORGANS. OXIDATIVE STRESS ACTIVATES CELLULAR SIGNALING PATHWAYS AND TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS IN ENDOTHELIAL CELLS INCLUDING PROTEIN KINASE C (PKC), C-JUN-N-TERMINAL KINASE (JNK), P38 MITOGEN-ACTIVATED PROTEIN KINASE (MAPK), FORKHEAD BOX O (FOXO), AND NUCLEAR FACTOR KAPPA-B (NF-KAPPAB). OXIDATIVE STRESS ALSO CAUSES DNA DAMAGE AND ACTIVATES DNA NUCLEOTIDE EXCISION REPAIR ENZYMES INCLUDING THE EXCISION REPAIR CROSS COMPLIMENTING 1(ERCC1), ERCC4, AND POLY(ADP-RIBOSE) POLYMERASE (PARP). AUGMENTED PRODUCTION OF HISTONE ACETYLTRANSFERASE P300, AND ALTERATIONS OF HISTONE DEACETYLASES, INCLUDING CLASS III DEACETYLASES SIRTUINS, ARE ALSO INVOLVED IN THIS PROCESS. RECENT RESEARCH HAS FOUND THAT SMALL NONCODING RNAS, LIKE MICRORNA, ARE A NEW KIND OF REGULATOR ASSOCIATED WITH CHRONIC DIABETIC COMPLICATIONS. THERE ARE EXTENSIVE AND COMPLICATED INTERACTIONS AND AMONG THESE MOLECULES. THE PURPOSE OF THIS REVIEW IS TO DEMONSTRATE THE ROLE OF OXIDATIVE STRESS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF DIABETIC COMPLICATIONS IN RELATION TO EPIGENETIC CHANGES SUCH AS ACETYLATION AND MICRORNA ALTERATIONS. 2013 14 1874 30 EMERGING ROLE OF NF-KAPPAB SIGNALING IN THE INDUCTION OF SENESCENCE-ASSOCIATED SECRETORY PHENOTYPE (SASP). THE MAJOR HALLMARK OF CELLULAR SENESCENCE IS AN IRREVERSIBLE CELL CYCLE ARREST AND THUS IT IS A POTENT TUMOR SUPPRESSOR MECHANISM. GENOTOXIC INSULTS, E.G. OXIDATIVE STRESS, ARE IMPORTANT INDUCERS OF THE SENESCENT PHENOTYPE WHICH IS CHARACTERIZED BY AN ACCUMULATION OF SENESCENCE-ASSOCIATED HETEROCHROMATIC FOCI (SAHF) AND DNA SEGMENTS WITH CHROMATIN ALTERATIONS REINFORCING SENESCENCE (DNA-SCARS). INTERESTINGLY, SENESCENT CELLS SECRETE PRO-INFLAMMATORY FACTORS AND THUS THE CONDITION HAS BEEN CALLED THE SENESCENCE-ASSOCIATED SECRETORY PHENOTYPE (SASP). EMERGING DATA HAS REVEALED THAT NF-KAPPAB SIGNALING IS THE MAJOR SIGNALING PATHWAY WHICH STIMULATES THE APPEARANCE OF SASP. IT IS KNOWN THAT DNA DAMAGE PROVOKES NF-KAPPAB SIGNALING VIA A VARIETY OF SIGNALING COMPLEXES CONTAINING NEMO PROTEIN, AN NF-KAPPAB ESSENTIAL MODIFIER, AS WELL AS VIA THE ACTIVATION OF SIGNALING PATHWAYS OF P38MAPK AND RIG-1, RETINOIC ACID INDUCIBLE GENE-1. GENOMIC INSTABILITY EVOKED BY CELLULAR STRESS TRIGGERS EPIGENETIC CHANGES, E.G. RELEASE OF HMGB1 PROTEINS WHICH ARE ALSO POTENT ENHANCERS OF INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES. MOREOVER, ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS AND CHRONIC INFLAMMATION CAN STIMULATE P38MAPK AND CERAMIDE SIGNALING AND INDUCE CELLULAR SENESCENCE WITH PRO-INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES. ON THE OTHER HAND, TWO CYCLIN-DEPENDENT KINASE INHIBITORS, P16INK4A AND P14ARF, ARE EFFECTIVE INHIBITORS OF NF-KAPPAB SIGNALING. WE WILL REVIEW IN DETAIL THE SIGNALING PATHWAYS WHICH ACTIVATE NF-KAPPAB SIGNALING AND TRIGGER SASP IN SENESCENT CELLS. 2012 15 4044 26 MACROPHAGES IN OXIDATIVE STRESS AND MODELS TO EVALUATE THE ANTIOXIDANT FUNCTION OF DIETARY NATURAL COMPOUNDS. ANTIOXIDANT TESTING OF NATURAL PRODUCTS HAS ATTRACTED INCREASING INTEREST IN RECENT YEARS, MAINLY DUE TO THE FACT THAT AN ANTIOXIDANT-RICH DIET MIGHT PROVIDE HEALTH BENEFITS. ACTIVATED MACROPHAGES ARE A MAJOR SOURCE OF REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES, REACTIVE NITROGEN SPECIES, AND PEROXYNITRITE GENERATED THROUGH THE SO-CALLED RESPIRATORY BURST. CONSTITUTIVELY RELEASED PROINFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE, ESPECIALLY TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR-ALPHA, TRIGGERS NUCLEAR FACTOR-KAPPAB, AND ACTIVATOR PROTEIN-1 TRANSLOCATION LEADING TO THE OVER PRODUCTION OF REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES AND REACTIVE NITROGEN SPECIES IN MACROPHAGES. ACTIVATION OF TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS IN THE LONG-LIVED TISSUE-RESIDENT MACROPHAGES AND/OR MONOCYTE-DERIVED MACROPHAGES, TRIGGER EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS LEADING TO THE PATHOGENESIS OF CHRONIC DISEASES. NUTRACEUTICALS INCLUDING LIPID RAFT STRUCTURE DISRUPTION AGENT, CHOLESTEROL DEPLETION AGENT, FARNESYLTRANSFERASE INHIBITOR, NUCLEAR FACTOR-KAPPAB BLOCKER (ALPHA,BETA-UNSATURATED CARBONYL COMPOUNDS), GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTOR AGONIST, AND PEROXISOME PROLIFERATOR-ACTIVATED RECEPTOR-GAMMA AGONIST HAVE LONG BEEN USED TO INACTIVE MACROPHAGE. THE INHIBITION EFFECTS ON THE FORMATION OF NITRIC OXIDE, SUPEROXIDE, AND NITRITE PEROXIDE MAY BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY FUNCTIONALITIES. ACTIVATED MACROPHAGE MODELS COULD BE USED TO IDENTIFY THE ACTIVE COMPONENTS FOR FUNCTIONAL DIETS DEVELOPMENT THROUGH A MULTIPLE TARGETS STRATEGY. 2017 16 3890 26 KLOTHO, PHOSPHATE AND INFLAMMATION/AGEING IN CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE. EVIDENCE IS EMERGING FOR THE INFLAMMATORY NATURE OF MANY AGEING-ASSOCIATED DISEASES, INCLUDING ATHEROSCLEROSIS, VASCULAR CALCIFICATION, DIABETES AND CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE (CKD), AMONG OTHERS. AGEING ITSELF RESULTS IN CHRONIC LOW-GRADE INFLAMMATION THAT PROMOTES END-ORGAN DAMAGE. INFLAMMATORY ORGAN DAMAGE, IN TURN, MAY CONTRIBUTE TO INFLAMMATION. RECENT RESEARCH HAS IDENTIFIED THE KIDNEY-SECRETED HORMONE KLOTHO AS A CENTRAL PLAYER AT THE AGEING-INFLAMMATION INTERFACE. THUS, SYSTEMIC OR LOCAL RENAL INFLAMMATION DECREASES KIDNEY KLOTHO EXPRESSION. KLOTHO DOWN-REGULATION MAY BE INDUCED BY SPECIFIC CYTOKINES SUCH AS TUMOUR NECROSIS FACTOR-ALPHA OR TWEAK THROUGH THE CANONICAL ACTIVATION OF THE INFLAMMATORY TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR NUCLEAR FACTOR KAPPA B (NFKAPPAB) AND, SPECIFICALLY RELA. IN ADDITION, INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES LEAD TO THE EPIGENETIC INACTIVATION OF KLOTHO TRANSCRIPTION. KLOTHO ITSELF HAS ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY PROPERTIES AND THE CANONICAL NFKAPPAB COMPONENT RELA IS ONE OF ITS TARGETS. KLOTHO IS A KEY REGULATOR OF PHOSPHATE BALANCE AND A ROLE OF PHOSPHATE IN AGEING HAS BEEN SHOWN. HOWEVER, THE POTENTIAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PHOSPHATE AND INFLAMMATION REQUIRES FURTHER CLARIFICATION. A CORRECT UNDERSTANDING OF THESE INTERACTIONS MAY LEAD TO THE DESIGN OF NOVEL THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES TO CKD AND CKD-RELATED INFLAMMATORY AND AGEING FEATURES AS WELL AS TO INFLAMMATION/AGEING IN GENERAL. 2012 17 4396 19 MODULATION OF CHRONIC INFLAMMATION BY QUERCETIN: THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS ON OBESITY. OBESITY HAS BECOME A MAJOR RISK FACTOR FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHRONIC DISEASES SUCH AS INSULIN RESISTANCE, TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS, AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE. MOREOVER, OBESITY INDUCES CHRONIC INFLAMMATION IN ADIPOSE TISSUE, LIVER, SKELETAL MUSCLE, AND THE VASCULAR SYSTEM. QUERCETIN IS THE MAJOR REPRESENTATIVE OF THE FLAVONOID SUBCLASS OF FLAVONOLS, WHICH IS UBIQUITOUSLY CONTAINED WITHIN NATURAL PLANTS SUCH AS GREEN TEA, AND VEGETABLES, INCLUDING ONIONS AND APPLES. RESEARCHERS HAVE FOCUSED GREATER ATTENTION TO THE BENEFICIAL PHYSIOLOGICAL ROLES OF QUERCETIN, WHICH HAS ANTI-OXIDATIVE, ANTI-INFLAMMATORY, AND ANTI-FIBROTIC EFFECTS ON INSULIN RESISTANCE AND ATHEROSCLEROSIS IN OBESITY-RELATED DISEASES. ALSO, THE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY EFFECTS OF QUERCETIN ON INTESTINAL MICROBIOTA HAVE BEEN DEMONSTRATED IN OBESITY. IN ADDITION, THERE IS INCREASING EVIDENCE THAT QUERCETIN IS ASSOCIATED WITH EPIGENETIC ACTIVITIES IN CANCER, AND IN MATERNAL UNDERNUTRITION DURING GESTATION AND LACTATION. IN THIS REVIEW, WE FOCUS ON THE CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF QUERCETIN, ITS DIETARY SOURCES IN OBESITY, AND ITS ANTI-INFLAMMATORY EFFECTS ON INSULIN RESISTANCE, ATHEROSCLEROSIS, INTESTINAL MICROBIOTA, AND MATERNAL UNDER-NUTRITION WITH EPIGENETIC ACTIVITY. 2020 18 5629 27 SENESCENCE IN COPD AND ITS COMORBIDITIES. CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD) IS REGARDED AS A DISEASE OF ACCELERATED LUNG AGING. THIS AFFLICTION SHOWS ALL OF THE HALLMARKS OF AGING, INCLUDING TELOMERE SHORTENING, CELLULAR SENESCENCE, ACTIVATION OF PI3 KINASE-MTOR SIGNALING, IMPAIRED AUTOPHAGY, MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION, STEM CELL EXHAUSTION, EPIGENETIC CHANGES, ABNORMAL MICRORNA PROFILES, IMMUNOSENESCENCE, AND A LOW-GRADE CHRONIC INFLAMMATION (INFLAMMAGING). MANY OF THESE PATHWAYS ARE DRIVEN BY CHRONIC EXOGENOUS AND ENDOGENOUS OXIDATIVE STRESS. THERE IS ALSO A REDUCTION IN ANTIAGING MOLECULES, SUCH AS SIRTUINS AND KLOTHO, WHICH FURTHER ACCELERATE THE AGING PROCESS. COPD IS ASSOCIATED WITH SEVERAL COMORBIDITIES (MULTIMORBIDITY), SUCH AS CARDIOVASCULAR AND METABOLIC DISEASES, THAT SHARE THE SAME PATHWAYS OF ACCELERATED AGING. UNDERSTANDING THESE MECHANISMS HAS HELPED IDENTIFY SEVERAL NOVEL THERAPEUTIC TARGETS, AND SEVERAL DRUGS AND DIETARY INTERVENTIONS ARE NOW IN DEVELOPMENT TO TREAT MULTIMORBIDITY. 2017 19 799 34 CELLULAR SIGNALING AND POTENTIAL NEW TREATMENT TARGETS IN DIABETIC RETINOPATHY. DYSFUNCTION AND DEATH OF MICROVASCULAR CELLS AND IMBALANCE BETWEEN THE PRODUCTION AND THE DEGRADATION OF EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX (ECM) PROTEINS ARE A CHARACTERISTIC FEATURE OF DIABETIC RETINOPATHY (DR). GLUCOSE-INDUCED BIOCHEMICAL ALTERATIONS IN THE VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL CELLS MAY ACTIVATE A CASCADE OF SIGNALING PATHWAYS LEADING TO INCREASED PRODUCTION OF ECM PROTEINS AND CELLULAR DYSFUNCTION/DEATH. CHRONIC DIABETES LEADS TO THE ACTIVATION OF A NUMBER OF SIGNALING PROTEINS INCLUDING PROTEIN KINASE C, PROTEIN KINASE B, AND MITOGEN-ACTIVATED PROTEIN KINASES. THESE SIGNALING CASCADES ARE ACTIVATED IN RESPONSE TO HYPERGLYCEMIA-INDUCED OXIDATIVE STRESS, POLYOL PATHWAY, AND ADVANCED GLYCATION END PRODUCT FORMATION AMONG OTHERS. THE ABERRANT SIGNALING PATHWAYS ULTIMATELY LEAD TO ACTIVATION OF TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS SUCH AS NUCLEAR FACTOR-KAPPAB AND ACTIVATING PROTEIN-1. THE ACTIVITY OF THESE TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS IS ALSO REGULATED BY EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS THROUGH TRANSCRIPTIONAL COACTIVATOR P300. THESE COMPLEX SIGNALING PATHWAYS MAY BE INVOLVED IN GLUCOSE-INDUCED ALTERATIONS OF ENDOTHELIAL CELL PHENOTYPE LEADING TO THE PRODUCTION OF INCREASED ECM PROTEINS AND VASOACTIVE EFFECTOR MOLECULES CAUSING FUNCTIONAL AND STRUCTURAL CHANGES IN THE MICROVASCULATURE. UNDERSTANDING OF SUCH MECHANISTIC PATHWAYS WILL HELP TO DEVELOP FUTURE ADJUVANT THERAPIES FOR DIABETIC RETINOPATHY. 2007 20 5634 31 SENOLYTICS AND SENOMORPHICS: NATURAL AND SYNTHETIC THERAPEUTICS IN THE TREATMENT OF AGING AND CHRONIC DISEASES. CELLULAR SENESCENCE IS A HETEROGENEOUS PROCESS GUIDED BY GENETIC, EPIGENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, CHARACTERIZING MANY TYPES OF SOMATIC CELLS. IT HAS BEEN SUGGESTED AS AN AGING HALLMARK THAT IS BELIEVED TO CONTRIBUTE TO AGING AND CHRONIC DISEASES. SENESCENT CELLS (SC) EXHIBIT A SPECIFIC SENESCENCE-ASSOCIATED SECRETORY PHENOTYPE (SASP), MAINLY CHARACTERIZED BY THE PRODUCTION OF PROINFLAMMATORY AND MATRIX-DEGRADING MOLECULES. WHEN SC ACCUMULATE, A CHRONIC, SYSTEMIC, LOW-GRADE INFLAMMATION, KNOWN AS INFLAMMAGING, IS INDUCED. IN TURN, THIS CHRONIC IMMUNE SYSTEM ACTIVATION RESULTS IN REDUCED SC CLEARANCE THUS ESTABLISHING A VICIOUS CIRCLE THAT FUELS INFLAMMAGING. SC ACCUMULATION REPRESENTS A CAUSAL FACTOR FOR VARIOUS AGE-RELATED PATHOLOGIES. TARGETING OF SEVERAL AGING HALLMARKS HAS BEEN SUGGESTED AS A STRATEGY TO AMELIORATE HEALTHSPAN AND POSSIBLY LIFESPAN. CONSEQUENTLY, SC AND SASP ARE VIEWED AS POTENTIAL THERAPEUTIC TARGETS EITHER THROUGH THE SELECTIVE KILLING OF SC OR THE SELECTIVE SASP BLOCKAGE, THROUGH NATURAL OR SYNTHETIC COMPOUNDS. THESE COMPOUNDS ARE MEMBERS OF A FAMILY OF AGENTS CALLED SENOTHERAPEUTICS DIVIDED INTO SENOLYTICS AND SENOMORPHICS. FEW OF THEM ARE ALREADY IN CLINICAL TRIALS, POSSIBLY REPRESENTING A FUTURE TREATMENT OF AGE-RELATED PATHOLOGIES INCLUDING DISEASES SUCH AS ATHEROSCLEROSIS, OSTEOARTHRITIS, OSTEOPOROSIS, CANCER, DIABETES, NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES SUCH AS ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES, HEPATIC STEATOSIS, CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE, IDIOPATHIC PULMONARY FIBROSIS AND AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION. IN THIS REVIEW, WE PRESENT THE ALREADY IDENTIFIED SENOLYTICS AND SENOMORPHICS FOCUSING ON THEIR REDOX-SENSITIVE PROPERTIES. WE DESCRIBE THE STUDIES THAT REVEALED THEIR EFFECTS ON CELLULAR SENESCENCE AND ENABLED THEIR NOMINATION AS NOVEL ANTI-AGING AGENTS. WE REFER TO THE SENOLYTICS THAT ARE ALREADY IN CLINICAL TRIALS AND WE PRESENT VARIOUS ADVERSE EFFECTS EXHIBITED BY SENOTHERAPEUTICS SO FAR. FINALLY, WE DISCUSS ASPECTS OF THE SENOTHERAPEUTICS THAT NEED IMPROVEMENT AND WE SUGGEST THE DESIGN OF FUTURE SENOTHERAPEUTICS TO TARGET SPECIFIC REDOX-REGULATED SIGNALING PATHWAYS IMPLICATED EITHER IN THE REGULATION OF SASP OR IN THE ELIMINATION OF SC. 2021