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Abstract
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have historically been viewed as toxic metabolic byproducts
and causal agents in a myriad of human pathologies. More recent work, however, indicates
that ROS are critical intermediates of cellular signaling pathways. Although it is
clear that dedicated cellular ROS producers such as NADPH oxidases participate in
signaling, evidence suggests that mitochondrial production of ROS is also a tightly
controlled process, and plays a role in the maintenance of cellular oxidative homeostasis
and propagation of cellular signaling pathways. Production of ROS at mitochondria
thus integrates cellular energy state, metabolite concentrations, and other upstream
signaling events and has important implications in cellular stress signaling, maintenance
of stem cell populations, cellular survival, and oncogenic transformation.
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