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EDITORIAL article

Front. Endocrinol., 16 January 2024
Sec. Molecular and Structural Endocrinology
This article is part of the Research Topic Free Radicals and Antioxidants in Diseases Associated with Immune Dysfunction, Inflammatory Process, and Aberrant Metabolism View all 7 articles

Editorial: Free radicals and antioxidants in diseases associated with immune dysfunction, inflammatory process, and aberrant metabolism

  • 1The Public Experimental Center, Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun, China
  • 2Comprehensive Exposure Research Center, School of Pharmacy, Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Dalian, China
  • 3Central Laboratory, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
  • 4Department of Molecular Cell and Cancer Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, United States

Free radicals, primarily composed of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS), can originate within the body through normal cell metabolism or external factors like medication and radiation. These free radicals serve a dual role in living organisms, acting as toxic and protective agents. Free radicals play critical roles as signaling molecules at lower to moderate concentrations. However, when antioxidant defenses are compromised, excessive free radicals can lead to oxidative stress (OS) or endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Oxidative stress primarily stems from impaired mitochondria and phagocytes, two major sources of free radicals and oxidants, ultimately causing damage to biomolecules such as DNA, proteins, and lipids. Recent research findings unequivocally link the overproduction of free radicals to immune and metabolic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer. Patients with these conditions exhibit elevated levels of mitochondrial ROS, reinforcing this connection. Consequently, significant efforts have been directed toward developing effective interventions to mitigate these free radical-induced reactions. These interventions encompass dietary restrictions and antioxidant therapies to reduce oxidative stress and alleviate the associated disease states.

This Research Topic was designed to gather papers centered on the involvement of immune, inflammatory, and metabolic dysfunction in human diseases, focusing on the role of free radicals and antioxidants in these dysfunctions. Additionally, the topic highlighted innovative therapeutic approaches for scavenging free radicals and mitigating their detrimental effects on immune, inflammatory, and metabolic diseases. Six articles were collected to deepen our understanding of how excessive free radicals impact selected diseases and the strategies for their prevention and treatment in cellular and animal models.

Notably, the free radical nitric oxide (NO•) accumulation can trigger abnormal protein S-nitrosylation, a critical factor in the pathogenesis of diseases like neurodegenerative conditions and cancer. While significant progress has been made in understanding neurodegenerative diseases, the role of protein S-nitrosylation in cancer remains relatively unexplored, prompting further research in this area. In a study by Liang et al., protein S-nitrosylation in colorectal cancer (CRC) was investigated using biotin switch technology. They identified 19 commonly S-nitrosylated proteins associated with tumor endocrine, metabolic pathways, and apoptotic signaling pathways in CRC, suggesting that altered protein S-nitrosylation may play a role in CRC pathogenesis.

Additionally, due to the well-established link between diabetes mellitus and periodontitis, Zhao et al. conducted an in-depth review exploring the relationship between these two conditions. They examined clinical data from the perspectives of inflammatory/host immune response and oxidative stress (OS). Their analysis revealed that diabetes contributes to periodontitis susceptibility through various mechanisms, including microbiome factors, enhanced inflammatory responses, host immune factors, OS, alveolar bone resorption damage, and epigenetic changes. Furthermore, they highlighted how antioxidants can improve periodontitis prognosis by reducing OS, providing insights into the interconnected nature of endocrine, metabolic, and inflammatory diseases.

Acupuncture, a well-known alternative therapy for various ailments, was explored as a treatment approach for diseases related to diabetes mellitus in two articles within this Research Topic. Li et al. suggested that electroacupuncture could alleviate diabetic cognitive impairment by reducing hippocampal ER stress in db/db mice. Consistent with this finding, Ding et al. demonstrated that electroacupuncture improved abnormal energy metabolism in obese Zucker Diabetic Fatty rats by reducing oxidative stress. These results have clinical and social significance, offering potential early intervention and treatment options to reduce the incidence of cognitive impairment and metabolic disorders in diabetes. Furthermore, this Research Topic sheds light on other innovative therapeutic strategies for combating free radicals and their detrimental effects on immune, inflammatory, and metabolic diseases. Sidiropoulou et al. focused on the nuclear factor erythroid-derived 2-related factor 2 (NRF2), a key transcription factor regulating cellular antioxidant responses and implicated in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). They discussed the potential of natural antioxidants to activate NRF2 as a therapeutic option in AD, emphasizing the substantial antioxidant properties of these compounds. In another original research article by Liu et al., dexamethasone-loaded nanohydroxyapatite microspheres were found to exert anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting ROS generation, IL-6, TNF-a, and IL-1b in a rat model of dental pulp injury.

In conclusion, these studies underscore the critical roles of free radicals in diseases characterized by immune dysfunction, inflammatory processes, and aberrant metabolism, focusing on elucidating the underlying mechanisms. Various avenues for antioxidant interventions have been explored and discussed by the authors. However, further research is needed to provide more data and detailed mechanisms, ultimately leading to the development of novel intervention and treatment approaches to combat these diseases.

Author contributions

HY: Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. JL: Writing – original draft. NL: Writing – review & editing. LH: Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing.

Funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work has been supported by the Science and Technology Development Planning Project of Jilin Province [20220508086RC, 20230203157SF] (to HY).

Acknowledgments

The editors wish to thank all the authors and reviewers for their outstanding contributions to this Frontiers Research Topic.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Keywords: free radicals, oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum stress, immune dysfunction, metabolic disorder, inflammatory process

Citation: Yang H, Leng J, Liu N and Huang L (2024) Editorial: Free radicals and antioxidants in diseases associated with immune dysfunction, inflammatory process, and aberrant metabolism. Front. Endocrinol. 15:1363854. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2024.1363854

Received: 31 December 2023; Accepted: 08 January 2024;
Published: 16 January 2024.

Edited and Reviewed by:

Pierre De Meyts, Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium

Copyright © 2024 Yang, Leng, Liu and Huang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Hongmei Yang, yanghm0327@sina.cn; Lei Huang, lei.huang@umassmed.edu

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.