title: Signal transduction by reactive oxygen species.
abstract: Although historically viewed as purely harmful, recent evidence suggests that reactive oxygen species (ROS) function as important physiological regulators of intracellular signaling pathways. The specific effects of ROS are modulated in large part through the covalent modification of specific cysteine residues found within redox-sensitive target proteins. Oxidation of these specific and reactive cysteine residues in turn can lead to the reversible modification of enzymatic activity. Emerging evidence suggests that ROS regulate diverse physiological parameters ranging from the response to growth factor stimulation to the generation of the inflammatory response, and that dysregulated ROS signaling may contribute to a host of human diseases.
authors: Center for Molecular Medicine, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. finkelt@nih.gov
authors: Toren
authors: T
authors: Finkel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species