Oxidative Stress, Nutrition and Cancer: Friends or Foes?

Abstract

The relationship between cancer and nutrition, as well as nutrition and oxidative stress, shares puzzling aspects that current research is investigating as the possible components of an intriguing regulating mechanism involving the complex interplay between adipose tissue and other compartments. Along the very recent biological evolution, humans underwent a rapid change in their lifestyles and henceforth the role of the adipocytes earned a much more complex task in the fine tuning of the tissue microenvironment. A lipidic signaling language probably evolved in association with the signaling role of reactive oxygen species, which gained a fundamental part in the regulation of cell stem and plasticity. The possible relationship with cancer onset might have some causative mechanism in the impairment of this complex task, usually deregulated by drastic changes in one's own lifestyle and dietary habit. This review tries to address this issue.

Knockdown of lncRNA TUG1 protects lens epithelial cells from oxidative stress‑induced injury by regulating miR‑196a‑5p expression in age‑related cataracts

“…The incidence of age-related cataracts increases with age; 43-54-year-old patients have an incidence of 8.3%, compared with an incidence as high as 70.5% in patients over 75 ( 14 , 15 ). Oxidative stress occurs when the oxidative and antioxidant mechanisms in the body become unbalanced, such that an enhanced oxidative state is favored ( 36 , 37 ). This then promotes inflammatory infiltration by neutrophils, increased secretion of proteases and the production of large quantities of reactive oxidative intermediate products ( 36 , 37 ).…”

“…Oxidative stress occurs when the oxidative and antioxidant mechanisms in the body become unbalanced, such that an enhanced oxidative state is favored ( 36 , 37 ). This then promotes inflammatory infiltration by neutrophils, increased secretion of proteases and the production of large quantities of reactive oxidative intermediate products ( 36 , 37 ). Oxidative stress is an adverse effect that is caused by the production and accumulation of free radicals in the body, which is considered to be an important contributing factor to aging and disease ( 38 ).…”

Prussian blue nanocubes with peroxidase-like activity for polyphenol detection in commercial beverages

“…Scientic evidence conrms that foods, including vegetables and fruits, exert an antioxidant effect, that helps mitigate the harmful effects of free radicals within the body. [3][4][5][6] In this context, commercial beverages such as wines, teas, and natural juices are also recognised as sources of antioxidants for the body which can benet human health. 7,8 Typically, these antioxidant sources contain polyphenols, molecules with strong antioxidant capacity, that can neutralize FRs protecting against antioxidative stress.…”

Superoxide dismutase and the sigma1 receptor as key elements of the antioxidant system in human gastrointestinal tract cancers

“…The amount of ROS present in the cell depends on the activity of both the enzymes that generate them and the enzymes removing them, that is, antioxidant enzymes. Small-molecule antioxidants also play an important role in passive ROS inactivation, for example, GSH, tocopherols, vitamins C and A, and others [ 10 , 11 ].…”