Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 13, 2025

Viral Transgene Expression in Rodent Hearts and the Assessment of Cardiac Arrhythmia Risk
Published on: July 27, 2022
The Dark Side of Nrf2 in the Heart
Huimei Zang1, Roy Oomen Mathew2, Taixing Cui1
1Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC, United States.
Abstract:
Nuclear factor-erythroid factor 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) is a critical transcription factor that regulates the expression of over 1000 genes in the cell under normal and stressed conditions. These transcripts can be categorized into different groups with distinct functions, including antioxidative defense, detoxification, inflammatory responses, transcription factors, proteasomal and autophagic degradation, and metabolism. Nevertheless, Nrf2 has been historically considered as a crucial regulator of antioxidant defense to protect against various insult-induced organ damage and has evolved as a promising drug target for the treatment of human diseases, such as heart failure. However, burgeoning evidence has revealed a detrimental role of Nrf2 in cardiac pathological remodeling and dysfunction toward heart failure. In this mini-review, we outline recent advances in structural features of Nrf2 and regulation of Nrf2 activity and discuss the emerging dark side of Nrf2 in the heart as well as the potential mechanisms of Nrf2-mediated myocardial damage and dysfunction.
Related Concept Videos
Regulation of Heart Rates
The SNS increases heart rate through the release of norepinephrine and epinephrine, which act on beta-1 adrenergic receptors in the heart. This action increases the rate of depolarization in the sinoatrial (SA) node, the heart's...
Heart Failure II: Pathophysiology
Mechanism of Cardiac Arrhythmias
Cardiomyopathy III: Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
NF-κB-dependent Signaling Pathway
NF-κB-dependent Signaling Mechanism
The...

