As the organ executing gas exchange and directly facing the external environment, the lungs are challenged continuously by various stimuli, causing the disequilibration of redox homeostasis and leading to
pulmonary diseases. The breakdown of
oxidants/
antioxidants system happens when the overproduction of
free radicals results in an excess over the limitation of cleaning capability, which could lead to the oxidative modification of macromolecules including
nucleic acids. The most common type of oxidative base, 8-oxoG, is considered the marker of DNA oxidative damage. The appearance of 8-oxoG could lead to base mismatch and its accumulation might end up as
tumorigenesis. The base 8-oxoG was corrected by base excision repair initiated by
8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase-1 (OGG1), which recognizes 8-oxoG from the genome and excises it from the
DNA double strand, generating an AP site for further processing. Aside from its function in DNA damage repairment, it has been reported that OGG1 takes part in the regulation of gene expression, derived from its
DNA binding characteristic, and showed impacts on
inflammation. Researchers believe that OGG1 could be the potential
therapy target for relative disease. This review intends to make an overall summary of the mechanism through which OGG1 regulates gene expression and the role of OGG1 in
pulmonary diseases.