Oxidative stress and Graves' ophthalmopathy

Serum levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in patients with Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO) are obviously elevated.ROS can stimulate orbital fibroblasts (OF) to proliferate and produce glycosaminoglycan (GAG).Furthermore,ROS induces the expression of human leucocyte antigen-DR (HLADR),heat shock protein-72 (HSP-72) and intercellular adhesion molecule,and results in the pathogenesis of GO.Cigarette smoking can be the most important environmental factor which increases the generation of ROS,decreases antioxidant productions,and aggravates GO.Therefore,antioxidant reduces ROS-induced proliferation of fibroblasts.Oxidative stress may play an important role in the pathogenesis of GO. Key words: Oxidative stress; Graves' ophthalmopathy; Pathogenesis