Oxidative stress : implications in chronic inflammation-cancer and aging

Abstract EN

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are toxic species utilized by phagocytes and other cells of the body, for example, the lung epithelial tissue, to combat pathogens.

Upon activation, phagocytes generate an enormous amount of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species that are utilized for microbial killing.

ROS are basic parts of the antimicrobial effects of macrophages tasked to fight against pathogens by causing oxidative damage or by inducing pathogen clearance through different nonoxidative pathways.

In contrast, during the course of chronic release of ROS and imbalance in the antioxidant mechanism, damage to immune cells may occur that could be a major source for the development of inflammatory disease, cancer and age-related disorders.

ROS are an unavoidable by product of oxygen metabolism and their cellular concentrations are identified through the production and clearance of free radicals by antioxidant compounds and enzymes.

On one hand, these species are crucial for microbial killing and have beneficial effects for the body; on the other hand, uncontrolled constant ROS generation is harmful and leads to chronic disease.

This study implicates the role of ROS in different phases of diseases, like chronic inflammation, cancer and aging, beside the role it plays in bacterial killing.