Roles and Functions of ROS and RNS in Cellular Physiology and Pathology

Abstract

Our common knowledge on oxidative stress has evolved substantially over the years, being focused mostly on the fundamental chemical reactions and the most relevant chemical species involved in human pathophysiology of oxidative stress-associated diseases. Thus, reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species (ROS and RNS) were identified as key players in initiating, mediating, and regulating the cellular and biochemical complexity of oxidative stress either as physiological (acting pro-hormetic) or as pathogenic (causing destructive vicious circles) processes. The papers published in this particular Special Issue of Cells show an impressive range on the pathophysiological relevance of ROS and RNS, including the relevance of second messengers of free radicals like 4-hydroxynonenal, allowing us to assume that the future will reveal even more detailed mechanisms of their positive and negative effects that might improve the monitoring of major modern diseases, and aid the development of advanced integrative biomedical treatments.

The Roles of Nitric Oxide Synthase/Nitric Oxide Pathway in the Pathology of Vascular Dementia and Related Therapeutic Approaches

“…Free radicals, such as reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS), are normal cell metabolic products that participate in a variety of cellular events such as signal transduction in the BBB and enzyme catalysis [ 89 ]. These agents usually have at least one unpaired electron, so they are quite active and easily react with various substances in the body to produce O 2 − and peroxides.…”

Cisplatin and Pemetrexed Have Distinctive Growth-inhibitory Effects in Monotherapy and Combination Therapy onKRAS-dependent A549 Lung Cancer Cells

“…ROS have been reported to promote or slow the progression of cancer cells (63,64). Furthermore, ROS play a fundamental role in pathological and physiological processes (65,66). Many studies have claimed that excessive ROS generation by chemotherapy drugs can trigger DNA damage and lead to the onset of apoptosis (63,67).…”

Voice perturbations under the stress overload in young individuals: phenotyping and suboptimal health as predictors for cascading pathologies

“…Excessive release of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) have been identified as initiators, mediators, and regulators of cellular oxidative stress (OxiS). OxiS can damage almost any biomolecule, including chromosomal and mitochondrial DNA [ 55 , 56 ]. Oxidative damage plays a vital role in cascading pathologies, which include but are not restricted to CVD [ 57 ], neurodegeneration [ 58 – 60 ], stroke [ 46 ], diabetes mellitus with a broad spectrum of complications [ 61 ], and cancers [ 43 , 62 ] such as castration-resistant prostate cancer (via the androgen receptor (AR) dependent pathway) [ 63 ] and triple-negative breast cancer with aggressive metastatic diseases and particularly poor outcomes [ 47 , 49 ].…”