Figure 1.

Crosstalk between Nrf-2, NF-κB and AR in PCa: Oxidative stress leads to inflammation and vice versa. Oxidative stress results in the activation and nuclear localization of Nrf-2 after its dissociation from Keap1. Nrf-2 after localizing to the nucleus binds to the antioxidant response elements leading to the transcription and translation of antioxidant proteins. Inflammation, on the other hand, leads to the activation and nuclear localization of NF-κB after its dissociation from IκB, where it binds to NF-κB response elements leading to the transcription and translation of inflammatory proteins. Nrf2 signaling inhibits NF-κB signaling and vice versa. On the other hand, Nrf-2 inhibits AR whereas NF-κB activates AR signaling. AR after binding to androgens dissociates from HSPs (heat shock proteins), translocates to the nucleus leading to the transcription and translation of AR regulated proteins like prostate specific antigen (PSA).