The Role of Oxidative Stress in Human and Animal Health

Dear Colleagues,

Oxidative stress has long been defined as the breakdown of the equilibrium between the (increased) production of reactive oxidant species (ROS) and their (reduced) elimination by antioxidant species. It has now been recognized that the maintenance of a physiological level of oxidant challenge, termed oxidative “eu-stress”, is essential for governing life processes through redox signaling, whereas excessive oxidant challenge causes damage to biomolecules, termed oxidative “di-stress”. In light of more recent evidence, oxidative stress should be now considered as the expression of an ancestral adaptive response, essential for survival, common to all living organisms, from bacteria to humans, passing through plants and animals, managing a ubiquitous, interspecies, highly conserved biochemical system, i.e., the redox system.

The redox system machinery is based on the exchange of single reducing equivalents (electrons alone or in the form of hydrogen atoms) between a reactive oxidizing species, a molecular target, and a reducing, improperly identified “antioxidant” species. This exchange is ingeniously exploited mainly for signaling or defense purposes. If the adaptive response of the redox system is successful, a condition of “oxidative eu-stress” occurs, a phenomenon to be supported or, at least, not to be countered. If, on the other hand, the adaptive response fails, we must mark that as “oxidative di-stress”. Oxidative di-stress (often associated with chronic silent inflammation, in the so-called “oxi-inflammation”) should be prevented or treated as a sneaky, asymptomatic, and emerging risk factor for premature aging and several chronic and degenerative illnesses, including, in humans and diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and neurodegenerative disorders.

Growing evidence also documents an increasingly important role of redox processes in the veterinary field; conditions of oxidative di-stress, in fact, can compromise the well-being of both companion animals (pets) and farm animals (i.e., intended for human consumption); furthermore, the progress of knowledge in the field of redox biology is linked to the reliability of animal models, and this broadens the range of interest of redox phenomena in research animals, especially rodents.

Based on these facts, the real challenges of redox biology in human health are as follows:

• Understanding the structure (reactive oxidant species, antioxidants, and related molecular targets), the physiological role and the modulation (e.g., by transcriptional factors) of the redox system in specific contexts (e.g., cell, tissue, extracellular fluids), in different evolutionary stages, in basal conditions, after stimulus, etc.
• Identifying the mechanisms through which the redox system modulates signaling and defenses and other processes.
• Defining the reciprocal interactions among oxidative stress, inflammation, (epi)genetic changes, microbiome, and other biological processes.
• Developing more suitable models of study or improving those currently available in the field of redox biology in a targeted manner.
• Developing more suitable quantitative methodologies to evaluate redox phenomena and monitor their changes over time (interactomics, redoxomics, metabolomics, functional imaging, in vivo redox imaging).
• Developing suitable strategies to support oxidative eu-stress and prevent oxidative di-stress (lifestyle changes, supplements/nutraceutics, targeted-drugs).

We strongly solicit and encourage contributions on these issues, which we believe to be crucial in understanding the real biological role of redox processes in humans and animals in order to drive their health towards successful aging.

Dr. Eugenio Luigi Iorio
Guest Editor

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