Skip to main content
ARS Home » Northeast Area » Boston, Massachusetts » Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #169587
Title: USE OF BIOMARKERS OF OXIDATIVE STRESS IN HUMAN STUDIES

Author
item CHEN, CHUNG-YEN - TUFTS/HNRCA
item BLUMBERG, JEFFREY - TUFTS/HNRCA

Submitted to: Journal of Nutrition
Publication Type: Other
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/1/2004
Publication Date: 11/1/2004
Citation: Chen, C., Blumberg, J.B. 2004. Use of biomarkers of oxidative stress in human studies [expanded abstract]. Journal of Nutrition. 134:3188S-3189S.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: DNA, lipid and protein oxidation products provide an extensive, often practical, and growing array of potential biomarkers of oxidative stress. However, our understanding of the relationship between their status in the most readily accessible human matrices, i.e., blood cells, plasma and urine, and the site of disease lesions remains to be elucidated. Current investigations are targeted to developing a broader panel of biomarkers that examine both pro- and antioxidant reactions including: the capacity of a biological sample to resist oxidation in vitro or ex vivo, modulation of redox-sensitive transcription factors or related alterations in signal transduction pathways, assessment of genomic factors relevant to antioxidant defenses and oxidative stress, and clinical assessments employing non-invasive technology such as magnetic resonance imaging. A balanced approach examining both the generation of reactive species (including their "footprint" biomarkers) and antioxidant defenses (including both enzymatic and non-enzymatic protection) may best describe the panel of assays necessary to examine the role of free radicals and antioxidants in biology and medicine. In practice, single elements from these facets of pro- and antioxidant reactions are often employed with the change in a single analyte incorrectly interpreted to characterize oxidative stress status. While much remains to be learned about the most effective ways to assess oxidative stress, human studies should no longer employ a "black box" approach, assessing antioxidant intake in a cohort or administering an antioxidant-rich food or supplement in a randomized clinical trial and then measuring clinical outcomes with determining any of the biological actions which were postulated to underlie the efficacy of the antioxidant.