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Review
. 2011 Jun;68(12):2067-79.
doi: 10.1007/s00018-011-0682-x. Epub 2011 May 2.

Highly reactive oxygen species: detection, formation, and possible functions

Wolfhardt Freinbichler  1 , Maria A Colivicchi, Chiara Stefanini, Loria Bianchi, Chiara Ballini, Bashkim Misini, Peter Weinberger, Wolfgang Linert, Damir Varešlija, Keith F Tipton, Laura Della Corte
Affiliations
Review

Highly reactive oxygen species: detection, formation, and possible functions

Wolfhardt Freinbichler et al. Cell Mol Life Sci. 2011 Jun.

Abstract

The so-called reactive oxygen species (ROS) are defined as oxygen-containing species that are more reactive than O(2) itself, which include hydrogen peroxide and superoxide. Although these are quite stable, they may be converted in the presence of transition metal ions, such as Fe(II), to the highly reactive oxygen species (hROS). hROS may exist as free hydroxyl radicals (HO·), as bound ("crypto") radicals or as Fe(IV)-oxo (ferryl) species and the somewhat less reactive, non-radical species, singlet oxygen. This review outlines the processes by which hROS may be formed, their damaging potential, and the evidence that they might have signaling functions. Since our understanding of the formation and actions of hROS depends on reliable procedures for their detection, particular attention is given to procedures for hROS detection and quantitation and their applicability to in vivo studies.

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Figures

Scheme 1
Scheme 1
The redox states of oxygen with standard reduction potentials. The standard concentrations were taken as 1 M at a pH 7.0 (adapted from [9, 10])
Scheme 2
Scheme 2
Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Some actions of hROS
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Hydroxyl radicals and lipid peroxidation
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Trapping reagents used for hROS detection. DHBA, dihydroxybenzoic acid
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Dependence of 2-hydroxyterephthalic (OH-TA) on kainic acid (KA) concentration. Left panel: OH-TA formation, expressed as percentage of basal value, induced by 250, 500, and 1,000 μM KA. Right panel: the area under the concentration curve (AUCSTIM) of KA-induced OH-TA formation minus the basal AUC (AUCBAS) is plotted against KA concentration (modified from [43])
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