Oxidative damage initiated inflammation

Under normal physiological conditions, therefore, antioxidant defences in the skin are able to modulate free-radical production. The initiation of an inflammatory event has the potential for increasing ROS production to such an extent that defence systems are overwhelmed and tissue damage occurs. This event results in the production of even more toxic oxidants and the development of overt disease requiring treatment. Section 4 of this chapter will describe the role of ROS in skin inflammation. 

Lipid peroxidation (Figure 14.5) is the initiating reaction in a cascade of events, starting with the oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids to form lipid hydroperoxides, which then break down to yield a variety of end products, mainly aldehydes, which can go on to produce toxicity in distal tissues. For this reason cellular damage results not only from the breakdown of membranes such as those of the endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, and lysosomes but also from the production of reactive aldehydes that can travel to other tissues. It is now thought that many types of tissue injury, including inflammation, may involve lipid peroxidation. 

Heinecke JW The respiratory burst of neutrophils Oxidative pathways for the initiation of tissue damage at sites of inflammation in Gabrilovich DI (ed) New Outlook for Old Cells. London, Imperial College Press, 1999, pp 31-57. 

Damage to the implant. The inflammation which is part of the initiation of the immune response is an oxidative response. Materials subject to oxidative attack, such as polyethylenes and polyurethanes, may be degraded. 

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