Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2015:4:180-3.
doi: 10.1016/j.redox.2015.01.002. Epub 2015 Jan 3.

Oxidative stress: a concept in redox biology and medicine

Helmut Sies  1
Affiliations
Review

Oxidative stress: a concept in redox biology and medicine

Helmut Sies. Redox Biol. 2015.

Abstract

"Oxidative stress" as a concept in redox biology and medicine has been formulated in 1985; at the beginning of 2015, approx. 138,000 PubMed entries show for this term. This concept has its merits and its pitfalls. Among the merits is the notion, elicited by the combined two terms of (i) aerobic metabolism as a steady-state redox balance and (ii) the associated potential strains in the balance as denoted by the term, stress, evoking biological stress responses. Current research on molecular redox switches governing oxidative stress responses is in full bloom. The fundamental importance of linking redox shifts to phosphorylation/dephosphorylation signaling is being more fully appreciated, thanks to major advances in methodology. Among the pitfalls is the fact that the underlying molecular details are to be worked out in each particular case, which is bvious for a global concept, but which is sometimes overlooked. This can lead to indiscriminate use of the term, oxidative stress, without clear relation to redox chemistry. The major role in antioxidant defense is fulfilled by antioxidant enzymes, not by small-molecule antioxidant compounds. The field of oxidative stress research embraces chemistry, biochemistry, cell biology, physiology and pathophysiology, all the way to medicine and health and disease research.

Keywords: Adaptive response; Antioxidants; Oxidants; Oxidative stress; Redox balance; Redox signaling.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

None
Graphical abstract
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Sies H. In: Oxidative Stress. Sies H., editor. Academic Press; London: 1985. Oxidative stress: introductory remarks; pp. 1–8.
    1. H. Sies (Ed.), Oxidative Stress, Academic Press, London, 1985, pp. 1–507.
    1. Sies H. Biochemistry of oxidative stress. Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 1986;25(12):1058–1071. (in German)
    2. Sies H. Biochemie des oxidativen Stress. Angewandte Chemie. 1986;98(12):1061–1075. doi: 10.1002/ange.19860981203. - DOI
    1. C.K. Sen, H. Sies, P.A. Baeuerle (Eds.), Antioxidant and Redox Regulation of Genes, Academic Press, London, 2000, pp. 1–562.
    1. C. Gitler, A. Danon (Eds.), Cellular Implications of Redox Signaling, Imperial College Press, London, 2003, pp. 1–427.

Publication types