Figure 3.

Crosstalk of ROS with NF-κB signaling pathways. ROS interacts with NF-κB at various places within the signaling pathway. Many of these interactions occur in a cell type-specific manner. ROS has been proposed to both activate and inactivate the IKK complex leading to an effect on the downstream targets. Often ROS has been shown to activate NF-κB through alternative IκBα phosphorylation, which may or may not result in the degradation of IκBα. Lastly, ROS may influence the DNA binding properties of the NF-κB proteins themselves. Oxidation of p50 on its DNA binding domain has been shown to prevent its DNA binding, and must be reversed in the nucleus by a Trx1-dependent process involving Ref-1. On the other hand, the phosphorylation of RelA that is influenced by ROS-dependent processes leads to greater NF-κB activation.