title: Redox environment, free radical, and oxidative DNA damage.
abstract: CONCLUSIONS
  Effective redox homeostasis is critical, and disruption of this process can have important cellular consequences. An array of systems protect the cell from potentially damaging reactive oxygen species (ROS), however if these systems are overwhelmed, for example, in aberrantly functioning cells, ROS can have a number of detrimental consequences, including DNA damage. Oxidative DNA damage can be repaired by a number of DNA repair pathways, such as base excision repair (BER).
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  The role of ROS in oxidative DNA damage is well established, however, there is an emerging role for ROS and the redox environment in modulating the efficiency of DNA repair pathways targeting oxidative DNA lesions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Oxidative DNA damage and modulation of DNA damage and repair by the redox environment are implicated in a number of diseases. Understanding how the redox environment plays such a critical role in DNA damage and repair will allow us to further understand the far reaching cellular consequence of ROS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this review, we discuss the detrimental effects of ROS, oxidative DNA damage repair, and the redox systems that exist to control redox homeostasis. We also describe how DNA pathways can be modulated by the redox environment and how the redox environment and oxidative DNA damage plays a role in disease.
authors.affiliation: Academic Oncology, University of Nottingham, School of Molecular Medical Sciences, Nottingham University Hospitals Trust, City Hospital Campus, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Sarah J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Storr
authors.forename: Caroline M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Woolston
authors.forename: Yimin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Stewart G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Martin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000378:metabolism; D004249:DNA Damage; D004260:DNA Repair; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000378:metabolism; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000378:metabolism; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species