Figure 11

Redox sensors, redox signalling and control of redox sensitive transcription in higher eukaryotes. (a) Redox reactions involving transcription factors such as Ref1 (Redox-factor-1); Ref-1 is a ubiquitous reductase having cysteine residues (Cys65 and Cys94) that are believed to be critical for redox-dependent modification of several transcription factors, including AP-1 (activator protein-1), NF-κB (nuclear factor κB), p53, ATF/CREB (activating transcription factor/cAMP-response element-binding protein), and HIF-1α (hypoxia-inducible factor 1α). Ref-1 acts by reducing -SOH groups and/or oxidized cysteine residues or disulphide bonds present on transcription factors that, under these 'oxidized' conditions, have reduced or absent DNA-binding activity; the 'reduced' transcription factors then become able to bind their related sequences on DNA (shown here are the two examples Ref-1/p53 1 and Ref1/AP-1 2). (b) Nuclear translocation of transcriptional regulators that are maintained in an inactive form in another cellular compartment; a characteristic example is Nrf-2 (nuclear factor (erythroid-derived-2)-like-2), which is a transcriptional regulator able to bind to the so-called ARE (antioxidant responsive elements) regulatory sequences that are located on genes encoding a number of enzymes involved in detoxification, including those for glutathione S-transferases, NAD(P)H quinine oxidoreductase, the multidrug resistance-associated protein and cysteine-glutamate exchange transporter, thus up-regulating their transcription. In this case, Nrf-2 is usually bound to KEAP-1 (Kelch-like ECH associated protein-1) receptor or sensor, a protein rich in cysteine residues that usually forms a complex with cullin-3 and Nrf-2 to target the latter for proteasomal degradation. Exposure to oxidative stress (oxidation of Cys151, Cys273 and Cys288 combined with other reactions, including a Cys-zinc redox centre) results in modification of KEAP-1, leading to arrest of Nrf-2 ubiquitylation, allowing Nrf-2 to detach from KEAP-1 and translocate into the nucleus. (c) Modulation of transcription by alterations in the so-called 'redox buffer'; this concept indicates simply that several transcription factors as well as DNA modifying enzymes are sensitive to the most relevant reduced/oxidized molecular redox pairs, such as GSH/GSSG, NADPH/NADP and NADH/NAD. Examples of this way of coupling redox status to transcription factors or chromatin modifying enzymes include proteins that regulate circadian rhythms (Clock, NPAS2 and BMAL1), the protein for transcriptional silencing related to lifespan, SIRT1, and the transcriptional repressor C-terminal-binding protein (CtBP).