5. The Molecular Activation and Cytoprotective Activity of the Keap1-Nrf2 Pathway against Oxidative Stress
Whenever cells encounter an unbalanced redox reaction or high levels of ROS, these cells acquire cytoprotection by activating the Keap1-Nrf2 pathway. This pathway consists of four interlinked constituents: inducers, Keap1 protein (senses the inducers), Nrf2, and target genes that execute the cytoprotection against oxidative stress. Under basal conditions, Keap1 binds to the ETGE and DLG motifs on Nrf2 and brings Nrf2 into the Keap1–Cul3–E3 ubiquitin ligase complex. Subsequently, Nrf2 is being degraded by the Keap1-dependent Cul3–E3 ubiquitin–proteasome pathway
[45][46][47]. A cysteine code hypothesis is given, which states that in response to oxidative stress, these 27 cysteines are prime choices for electrophiles and oxidizing agents, because some of them are situated close to basic residues
[48]. The functional significance of Cys151, Cys273, and Cys288 has been demonstrated by the fact that Cys151 is necessary for the inducer-induced activation of Nrf2, and that Cys273 and Cys288 are required for its repression
[49]. Additionally, Cys226, Cys613, Cys622, and Cys624 residues have recently been found to be important for sensing hydrogen peroxide by forming the disulfide bond in order to maintain the fail-safe mechanism
[47]. Although the pattern of modification of these cysteine residues by electrophiles is known as the “cysteine code”
[50], the modification of cysteine residues causes conformational changes in the Keap1 that results in the disruption of Nrf2 from Keap1, and therefore inhibits the polyubiquitination of Nrf2
[35][36][38]. Thus, the stabilization of Nrf2 increases its nuclear localization and accumulation. In the nucleus, Nrf2 is heterodimerized with sMaf and then this heterodimerized Nrf2–sMaf complex recognizes the ARE sequences of various antioxidant genes and activates gene transcription
[51]. Nrf2, in addition, competes with the transcription factor Bach1 for binding in the ARE motifs of antioxidant genes to regulate cellular oxidative stress levels
[52][53].
6. Nrf2-Mediated Globin Gene Regulation
SCD phenotypic severity can be alleviated by increasing HbF expression to inhibit and thus reduce oxidative stress
[54][55][56]. Most studies that propose to develop new SCD therapies aim to reactivate fetal γ-globin expression as their goal
[57][58]. Infants with Hb SS have a delay in the fetal γ- to β-globin switch, and HbF levels average 9% at 24 months of age. This observation provided the impetus for widespread research efforts to understand the mechanisms of γ-globin gene regulation to develop strategies to reverse this process in SCD. The efficacy of HbF is due to its ability to dilute HbS levels below the threshold required for polymerization and to influence HbS polymer stability in the sickle RBCs
[59]. To increase HbF expression, some research teams have tried to investigate how Nrf2 affects the regulation of the globin genes, particularly gamma globin, although there has not been much research carried out in this area up to now
[60][61][62]. The β-locus control region (β-LCR), which has several Dnase1 hypersensitive sites, tightly controls the expression of the globin gene
[63]. By interacting with transcription factors that connect these DNA regions to the RNA polymerase machinery, all of these sites are able to exert stimulatory, inhibitory, or more complex activities
[64]. Hypersensitive site 2, which has tandem repeats present in the locus control region, helps with the expression of genes present in the globin gene cluster (add reference). These tandem repeats act as binding sites for activating protein 1 (AP1), nuclear factor erythroid 2, and Nrf2 (NF-E2-related factor 2)
[22]. A strong acidic activation domain present in Nrf2 may contribute in the transcriptional stimulation of β-globin genes
[22], although this function of Nrf2 is still unclear. Therefore, to evaluate the role of Nrf2 in the expression of the globin gene cluster, the human β-globin locus yeast artificial chromosome transgenic/NRF2 knockout (β-YAC/NRF2) mouse model was developed by a research team
[65]. NRF2 loss decreased β-globin gene expression during erythropoiesis and eliminated dimethyl fumarate’s ability to increase β-globin transcription
[62][66]. In β-YAC/NRF2 mice, it was found that the chromatin marks H3K4Me1 and H3K4Me3 were reduced, and that TATA-binding protein and RNA polymerase II were associated with the promoters of the globin and locus control region (LCR) genes
[65].
7. Regulatory Role of Keap1-Nrf2 Heterodimer in Iron, Heme, and Hemoglobin Metabolism
Nrf2 mediates the cytoprotective response against oxidative stress by also influencing the iron-regulatory mechanism. For hemoglobin synthesis, iron is reutilized for RBC production in the spleen, while in an iron-overload condition, liver increases the production of a peptide hormone named hepcidin that maintains iron homeostasis
[67]. Hepcidin degrades ferroportin (FPN1), the only iron exporter highly expressed in the basolateral membrane of the small intestine, and, thereby, decreases iron absorption in the small intestine
[68][69]. Moreover, macrophages also scavenge heme and hemoglobin and degrade heme into biliverdin, free iron, and carbon monoxide through HO-1 activity
[21][70]. This free iron can be stored with ferritin and exported by FPN1 to other cells for further utilization
[21][70]. Ferritin is structurally a complex molecule of 24 heavy and light chains (FTH1 and LTH, respectively) in different ratios for various functions. Because FTH1 has oxidase activity, it stores the iron in a stable ferrihydrite form
[21][71]. A study has found that the ARE, a 4 kb upstream transcription site in the FTH1 gene, is induced by Nrf2 and is responsible for the expression of FTH1
[71]. Additionally, the available literature suggests that AREs are also located 7 kb upstream of the FPN1 transcription start site and they are implicated in Nrf2-mediated regulation of the FPN1 gene
[21][71]. Nrf2 signaling can be suppressed by Bach1, which forms a heterodimer by competing with Nrf2 in binding with the sMaf protein
[53]. Heme, an inducer of HO-1, inactivates the Bach1 protein, promoting displacement of Bach1 from the sMaf-occupied HO-1 enhancers; a mechanism followed by Nrf2 binding to these elements
[21][53].
8. Keap1–Nrf2 Signaling as a Potential Therapeutic Target in SCD
As per the paragraph, it is now clear that an enhanced expression of the gamma globin gene substantially ameliorates the complications of SCD. Additionally, the dissociation of Nrf2 from Keap1 substantially activates the expression of numbers of antioxidant enzymes in SCDs, and helps to maintain the balance between metabolic redox reactions
[72]. Therefore, Keap1–Nrf2 signaling should also be considered as one of the plausible therapeutic target sites for the management of SCD. Here, there are some other approaches that have been found to be therapeutically significant to reduce the pathophysiology of SCD.
Aforesaid, activated Nrf2 further activates GSH and HO-1 along with various antioxidant enzymes
[44]. Reduced GSH is tripeptide of L-glutamate, cysteine, and glycine synthesized by the reactions catalyzed by both gamma-glutamyl cysteine ligase and GSH synthetase in the cytosol
[73][74]. GSH is actively oxidized by ROS and reduced to GSSG (glutathione disulfide), thus, providing cytoprotection
[73][74]. It has been observed that GSH and glutamine levels are very much reduced in SCD, and supplementation of glutamine ameliorates the redox imbalance, pain crises, and other complications of the SCD
[75][76]. Hence, it can be hypothesized that the Keap1-Nrf2 signaling pathway is potentially involved in regulating cellular GSH in SCD
[77]. Similar results were observed when Keap1 was mutated or cells were under oxidative stress, showing that Nrf2 is active, but these cells were deficient in glutamine because of the increase in the activity of the cystine-glutamate antiporter protein xCT
[78][79]. The xCT is encoded by SLC7A11, and activated by Nrf2, facilitating cystine entry into the cell
[78][79]. The elevated level of xCT reduces the anaplerosis of the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and makes the cells dependent on glutamine catabolism to glutamate to support xCT flux
[79]. That is why the supplementation of glutamine helps ameliorate SCD complications
[75][80]. Similarly, Nrf2 encourages the usage of cysteine in the biosynthesis of the antioxidant GSH for the purpose of ROS detoxification
[81][82]. Additionally, Nrf2 boosts the activity of gamma-glutamyl–cysteine ligase (GCL), a heterodimeric enzyme composed of both GCL catalytic subunit (GCLC) and GCL modifier subunit (GCLM), which catalyzes the first stage of GSH biosynthesis
[82]. GCL makes it easier for cysteine and glutamate to combine and form gamma-glutamyl cysteine, which is a precursor to GSH
[46][80][81][82]. Moreover, a group of scientists in 1997 observed the dynamic properties of S-nitrosohemoglobin in vasodilation control
[83]. They have reported that the thiol groups presented in cysteine residues of beta-globin exhibit inhibitory effects of NO, due to the reaction between NO and reduced sulfhydryl groups (−SH) that generates S-nitrosothiols (RSNOs)
[83][84]. Thiols such as GSH that possess a high affinity towards NO take part in trans-nitrosylation processes, where nitroso-Hb (SNO-Hb) transfers NO to the thiol to create nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) with good vasodilatory effects and leading to reduced pain crises in SCD
[83].