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Review
. 2014:2:165-9.
doi: 10.1016/j.redox.2014.01.002. Epub 2014 Jan 9.

Positive oxidative stress in aging and aging-related disease tolerance

Liang-Jun Yan  1
Affiliations
Review

Positive oxidative stress in aging and aging-related disease tolerance

Liang-Jun Yan. Redox Biol. 2014.

Abstract

It is now well established that reactive oxygen species (ROS), reactive nitrogen species (RNS), and a basal level of oxidative stress are essential for cell survival. It is also well known that while severe oxidative stress often leads to widespread oxidative damage and cell death, a moderate level of oxidative stress, induced by a variety of stressors, can yield great beneficial effects on adaptive cellular responses to pathological challenges in aging and aging-associated disease tolerance such as ischemia tolerance. Here in this review, I term this moderate level of oxidative stress as positive oxidative stress, which usually involves imprinting molecular signatures on lipids and proteins via formation of lipid peroxidation by-products and protein oxidation adducts. As ROS/RNS are short-lived molecules, these molecular signatures can thus execute the ultimate function of ROS/RNS. Representative examples of lipid peroxidation products and protein oxidation adducts are presented to illustrate the role of positive oxidative stress in a variety of pathological settings, demonstrating that positive oxidative stress could be a valuable prophylactic and/or therapeutic approach targeting aging and aging-associated diseases.

Keywords: Aging; Disease tolerance; Positive oxidative stress; Reactive nitrogen species; Reactive oxygen species.

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Graphical abstract
Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Levels of cellular oxidative stress and their differential effects. (A) basal level oxidative stress that is essential for cell survival and homeostasis; (B) positive oxidative stress that can be induced by a variety of non-lethal challenges that often induce protein oxidative modifications; (C) Severe oxidative stress that induces damage and cell death.
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