Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS): Key Components in Infection Control, Wound Healing, and Cancer Therapy

A special issue of Antioxidants (ISSN 2076-3921). This special issue belongs to the section "ROS, RNS and RSS".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 March 2026 | Viewed by 959

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
Interests: electrophoresis; genomics; mass spectrometry; proteins; gene expression; protein expression; protein purification; gel electrophoresis; SDS-PAGE; chromatography; oxidative stress; wound healing; cancer therapy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are central to numerous physiological and pathological processes, with dual roles in cellular signaling and oxidative stress. In recent years, ROS have gained increasing attention as critical mediators in therapeutic strategies for infection control, tissue repair, and oncology.

This Special Issue aims to explore the versatile and evolving roles of ROS in translational medicine, focusing on:

  • Infection control: including bactericidal mechanisms, immune defense modulation, and strategies against antibiotic-resistant pathogens and biofilms.
  • Wound healing: particularly the redox-regulated phases of inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling in acute and chronic wounds.
  • Cancer therapy: where ROS contribute to apoptosis induction, redox imbalance, immune activation, and improved response to chemotherapeutic and radiotherapeutic agents. 

We welcome experimental, clinical, and theoretical contributions addressing ROS-related mechanisms, antioxidant defense systems, and redox-sensitive signaling pathways. Special attention will be given to innovative therapeutic strategies that harness or modulate ROS—including drug delivery systems, biomaterials, and novel technologies such as cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) and plasma-activated media (PAM). 

By integrating diverse perspectives from redox biology, immunology, oncology, infectious disease, and regenerative medicine, this Special Issue seeks to highlight the potential of ROS-targeted approaches in improving human health and developing next-generation therapies.

Dr. Christian Scharf
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • reactive oxygen species (ROS)
  • oxidative stress
  • redox signaling
  • antioxidant defense
  • wound healing
  • biofilm eradication
  • infection control
  • cancer therapy
  • immune modulation
  • cold atmospheric plasma (CAP)
  • plasma-activated media (PAM)
  • translational redox medicine

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

25 pages, 1154 KB  
Review
Phagocyte NADPH Oxidase NOX2-Derived Reactive Oxygen Species in Antimicrobial Defense: Mechanisms, Regulation, and Therapeutic Potential—A Narrative Review
by George Țocu, Bogdan Ioan Ștefănescu, Loredana Stavăr Matei and Lavinia Țocu
Antioxidants 2026, 15(1), 55; https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox15010055 - 31 Dec 2025
Viewed by 695
Abstract
ROS derived from NADPH oxidase, particularly NOX2, are central to antimicrobial defense, coupling direct pathogen killing with redox signaling that shapes inflammation. This narrative review integrates recent advances on NOX2 structure, assembly, and spatiotemporal control in phagocytes, and outlines how ROS interact with [...] Read more.
ROS derived from NADPH oxidase, particularly NOX2, are central to antimicrobial defense, coupling direct pathogen killing with redox signaling that shapes inflammation. This narrative review integrates recent advances on NOX2 structure, assembly, and spatiotemporal control in phagocytes, and outlines how ROS interact with NF-κB, MAPK, and Nrf2 networks to coordinate microbicidal activity and immune modulation. We summarize evidence that both ROS deficiency, as in chronic granulomatous disease, and uncontrolled excess, as in sepsis and severe COVID-19, drive clinically significant pathology, emphasizing the need for precise redox balance. Emerging therapeutic strategies include selective NOX2 inhibitors that limit pathological oxidative bursts, redox-modulating peptides that disrupt upstream activation cues, and Nrf2 activators that enhance endogenous antioxidant capacity, with attention to dosing challenges that preserve host defense while mitigating tissue injury. Key gaps remain in biomarker standardization, real-time in vivo ROS monitoring, and translation from animal models to patients, motivating personalized, combination approaches to redox medicine in infectious diseases. Full article
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