ANTIOXIDANTS AND AP-1 ACTIVATION - A BRIEF OVERVIEW

Activity of the transcription factor AP-1 is controlled by different M APK cascades that regulate the different AP-1 components at the transc riptional and posttranscriptional level. Recently, AP-1 has been shown to behave as a redox-sensitive transcription factor chat can be induc ed under both pro-oxidative and antioxidative conditions. In this over view we summarize the signaling pathways that converge on the activati on of AP-1 and the components of these pathways that have been shown t o be targets of antioxidants. The activation of AP-1 by antioxidants m ay account for the expression of a number of genes that mediate import ant functions under physiological conditions.