Oxidative stress in inflammation-based gastrointestinal tract diseases: challenges and opportunities

Oxygen free radicals in excessively high amounts are all very reactive chemically and can impose a detrimental influence on living organisms by provoking "oxidative stress" that can damage major cellular constituents. The latter includes the cell membrane, cytoplasmic proteins, and nuclear DNA. Conversely, nitric oxide (NO), superoxide anion, and related reactive oxygen species (ROS) when present in low amounts play an important role as regulatory mediators in signaling processes, through which, paradoxically, many ROS-mediated responses can protect the cells against oxidative stress by induction of "redox homeostasis." Therefore, diseases associated with free radical overproduction are provoked by "blazed ROS productions" far beyond the host's capacity to quench. Free radicals have been implicated in the pathogenesis of diverse gastrointestinal (GI) diseases including gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), gastritis, enteritis, colitis and associated cancers as well as pancreatitis and liver cirrhosis. This article provides an overview of the role of oxidative stress in inflammation-based GI tract diseases, including reflux esophagitis, Helicobacter pylori-associated gastritis, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug-induced enteritis, ulcerative colitis, and associated colorectal cancer. The challenging issue that ROS can contribute to diverse gastrointestinal dysfunction, or manifest dual roles in cancer promotion or cancer suppression will also be discussed for the opportunity to enhance understanding of inflammation-based GI diseases.