In the past few years there has been the increased recognition that the effects of oxidative stress are not limited to the damage of cellular constituents. There is now evidence that reactive oxygen species (ROS) can alter cell function by acting upon the intermediates, or second messengers, in signal transductions. Such effects on signaling mechanisms probably account for the role of oxidative stress in inflammation, aging, and cancer. This volume brings together internationally recognized researchers in both the major areas covered by the book, oxidative stress and signal transduction. The work is organized in three sections. The first deals with the immediate cellular responses to oxidative stress and the production of second messengers. The second details the connection between second messengers and the gene. The third part looks more closely at the level of the gene.

Henry Jay Forman, Jon Fukuto and Martine Torres "Research is to see what everybody else has seen and to think what nobody else has thought. " -- Albert Szent-Gyorgyi Several years ago, one of us put together a book that dealt with various aspects of oxidative stress and introduced the concept of signal transduction by oxidants. Since then, the interest in the mechanisms by which reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS) can modulate the cell's response has tremendously grown, paralleling the intense efforts towards identifying new signaling pathways in which phosphorylation/dephosphorylation events take center stage. Evidence is now mounting that production of these species by the cells is required for their function from growth to apoptosis and numerous signaling pathways have been identified where the participation of ROS and RNS is apparent (see Chapters 11-14, 16 and 18). Thus, the field is no more limited to the group of free radical aficionados who have pioneered this area of research but has now gone mainstream. While it is satisfactory for those of us who have been working on this topic for a long time, it has the risk of becoming the "fashionable" motto where those molecules, still mysterious to some, become responsible for everything and anything.

In the past few years there has been the increased recognition that the effects of oxidative stress are not limited to the damage of cellular constituents. There is now evidence that reactive oxygen species (ROS) can alter cell function by acting upon the intermediates, or second messengers, in signal transductions. Such effects on signaling mechanisms probably account for the role of oxidative stress in inflammation, aging, and cancer. This volume brings together internationally recognized researchers in both the major areas covered by the book, oxidative stress and signal transduction. The work is organized in three sections. The first deals with the immediate cellular responses to oxidative stress and the production of second messengers. The second details the connection between second messengers and the gene. The third part looks more closely at the level of the gene.

Henry Jay Forman, Jon Fukuto and Martine Torres "Research is to see what everybody else has seen and to think what nobody else has thought. " -- Albert Szent-Gyorgyi Several years ago, one of us put together a book that dealt with various aspects of oxidative stress and introduced the concept of signal transduction by oxidants. Since then, the interest in the mechanisms by which reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS) can modulate the cell's response has tremendously grown, paralleling the intense efforts towards identifying new signaling pathways in which phosphorylation/dephosphorylation events take center stage. Evidence is now mounting that production of these species by the cells is required for their function from growth to apoptosis and numerous signaling pathways have been identified where the participation of ROS and RNS is apparent (see Chapters 11-14, 16 and 18). Thus, the field is no more limited to the group of free radical aficionados who have pioneered this area of research but has now gone mainstream. While it is satisfactory for those of us who have been working on this topic for a long time, it has the risk of becoming the "fashionable" motto where those molecules, still mysterious to some, become responsible for everything and anything.

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.