Nutritionally Mediated Oxidative Stress and Inflammation

Figure 1

Downstream effects of nutrient overload. Overview of the downstream effects mediated by nutrient overload. Excess glucose and free fatty acids overwhelm the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle which leads to an increase in the production of acetyl CoA. Excess acetyl CoA stimulates the mitochondria to produce excess superoxide in the electron transport chain, and the subsequent conversion of superoxide to hydrogen peroxide results in an increase of reactive oxygen species (ROS) within the cell. This change in redox status activates numerous redox-sensitive transcription factors, including NFκB, which is the main mediator of inflammatory responses.