Work

Oxygen and Oxygen Toxicity: The Birth of Concepts

Year: 2016

Type: article

Abstract: during aerobic metabolisms generates diverse oxygen-containing reactive species, commonly known as reactive oxygen species (ROS). On the one hand, ROS pose a serious threat to aerobic organisms via inducing oxidative damage to cellular constituents. On the other hand, these reactive species, when their generation is under homeostatic control, also play important physiological roles (e.g., constituting an important component of immunity and participating in redox signaling). This article defines oxygen and the key facts about oxygen, and discusses the relationship between oxygen and the emergence of early animals on Earth. The article then describes the discovery of oxygen by three historical figures and examines the birth of the concepts of oxygen toxicity and the underlying free radical mechanisms. The article ends with a brief introduction to the emerging field of ROS-mediated redox signaling and physiological responses.

Source: Reactive Oxygen Species

DOI: 10.20455/ros.2016.801

Authors: Hong Zhu, Arben Santo, Michael Trush, Y. Robert Li

Institutions: Campbell University, Virginia Tech, Johns Hopkins University, Virginia Tech - Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering & Sciences

Language: English

Topic: Redox biology and oxidative stress

Subfield: Molecular Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Cancer Institute, National Institute of General Medical Sciences

Awards: Cruciferous Dithiolethiones for Chronic Heart Failure: Signaling Mechanisms, AGE-RELATED ALTERATION OF LEYDIG CELL REDOX ENVIRONMENT A RISK FACTOR FOR SUSCEPT