Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41890758›Full record

ReviewFrontiers in immunology2026

Nrf2 as a redox checkpoint in autoimmune joint inflammation: microenvironmental redox control across the arthritis spectrum.

Mingwang Zhou, Haiyuan Gao, Xiaoping Wang, Zhenhua Shi, Xing Yang, YuNan Li, XinHao Li, Yongqiang Zhao

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Frontiers in immunology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Mingwang Zhou *Department of Joint Orthopaedics, Gansu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
Haiyuan Gao *Clinical College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Gansu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
Xiaoping WangThe Translational Medicine Research Center, Gansu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
Zhenhua ShiClinical College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Gansu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
Xing YangClinical College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Gansu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
YuNan LiClinical College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Gansu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
XinHao LiClinical College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Gansu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
Yongqiang ZhaoUrology, Gansu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Arthritis comprises a spectrum of immune-mediated joint disorders, with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) representing prototypic autoimmunity and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) spanning an autoinflammation-autoimmunity continuum. Across this spectrum, oxidative stress and inflammatory signaling reinforce each other within synovial/entheseal niches, sustaining immune activation and progressive structural damage. Excess reactive oxygen species (ROS) injure chondrocytes and synoviocytes, activate NF-κB and the NLRP3 inflammasome, and reprogram stromal-immune interactions; inflammatory mediators further increase ROS via NADPH oxidases, mitochondrial dysfunction, and immunometabolic perturbations, sustaining a "ROS-inflammation-ROS" loop. Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) is a redox-responsive transcription factor that, upon release from Keap1, drives antioxidant response element-dependent cytoprotective programs. Beyond antioxidation, Nrf2 can dampen NF-κB-linked transcription and modulate ferroptosis, pyroptosis, and autophagy while shaping macrophage and fibroblast-like synoviocyte states. Collectively, these actions position Nrf2 as a context-dependent redox checkpoint that may constrain inflammatory amplification and tune autoimmune-relevant processes (e.g., inflammatory antigen presentation and effector persistence) largely via microenvironmental remodeling rather than direct TCR/BCR inhibition. Here, we (i) map Nrf2-dependent versus Nrf2-independent nodes in the oxidative stress-inflammation circuit; (ii) compare cell type- and subtype-specific Nrf2 functions across RA, PsA, and AS; (iii) summarize pharmacologic and natural-product Nrf2 activators together with joint-targeted delivery strategies; and (iv) discuss evidence and gaps for Nrf2 in core autoimmune mechanisms, including self-tolerance, antigen handling, and pathogenic immune memory. This synthesis highlights Nrf2 as a mechanistic bridge between redox balance and immune regulation, informing Nrf2-centered therapies for autoimmune and immune-mediated arthritides.

Indexed as

ArthritisAutoimmune DiseasesNF-E2-Related Factor 2AnimalsAutoimmunityCellular MicroenvironmentHumansInflammationOxidation-ReductionOxidative StressReactive Oxygen SpeciesSignal TransductionNFE2L2 protein, humanNF-E2-Related Factor 2Reactive Oxygen Speciesarthritisautoimmune synovitisautoimmunityinflammationNrf2oxidative stressreactive oxygen species

Identifiers

PMID41890758
PMCPMC13013459

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.