Oxidative Stress

Eustress and Distress

Helmut Sies

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9780128186060
• eBook ISBN: 9780128196960
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Biochemistry
• Index: Biological Sciences

Oxidative Stress: Eustress and Distress presents current knowledge on oxidative stress within the framework of redox biology and translational medicine. It describes eustress and distress in molecular terms and with novel imaging and chemogenetic approaches in four sections: - A conceptual framework for studying oxidative stress.- Processes and oxidative stress responses. Signaling in major enzyme systems (oxidative eustress), and damaging modification of biomolecules (oxidative distress).- The exposome addresses lifelong exposure and impact on health, nutrient sensing, exercise and environmental pollution.- Health and disease processes, including ischemia-reperfusion injury, developmental and psychological disorders, hepatic encephalopathy, skeletal muscle disorders, pulmonary disease, gut disease, organ fibrosis, and cancer. Oxidative Stress: Eustress and Distress is an informative resource useful for active researchers and students in biochemistry, molecular biology, medicinal chemistry, pharmaceutical science, nutrition, exercise physiology, analytical chemistry, cell biology, pharmacology, clinical medicine, and environmental science.- Characterizes oxidative stress within the framework of redox biology, redox signaling, and medicine- Empowers researchers and students to quantify specific reactants noninvasively, identify redox biomarkers, and advance translational studies- Features contributions from international leaders in oxidative stress and redox biology research

Part 1

Conceptual

Chapter 1

Oxidative eustress and oxidative distress: Introductory remarks

Helmut Sies^{a,b a} Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
^b Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany

Abstract

In the research area of redox biology, the concept of oxidative stress encompasses redox imbalance, affecting redox signaling and leading to damage of biomolecules. Stress response systems can counteract, restoring redox balance. Normal metabolism and functions maintaining steady state require low levels of oxidants, denoted as oxidative eustress. Supraphysiological oxidant challenge is denoted as oxidative distress. Oxidative stress is generated endogenously (cell metabolism) and exogenously (exposome). Fundamental life processes and diseases have an oxidative stress component, opening the field for research on redox medicine.

Keywords

Redox biology; Oxidants; Antioxidants; Stress response; Health; Disease; Metabolism; Exposome

Acknowledgments

Helpful discussions with Wilhelm Stahl, Carsten Berndt, and Dean Jones are gratefully acknowledged. Thanks go to Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), Bonn, Germany, and to National Foundation for Cancer Research (NFCR), Bethesda, MD, USA, for long-standing research support.

Introduction

“Oxidative stress” is a global concept; it has been defined as “an imbalance between oxidants and antioxidants in favor of the oxidants, leading to a disruption of redox signaling and control and/or molecular damage” (Sies & Jones, 2007). This definition accommodates the significant advances in redox biology that occurred on understanding the role of redox signaling (D’Autreaux & Toledano, 2007; Finkel & Holbrook, 2000; Jones, 2006; Rhee, 2006; Stone & Yang, 2006; Winterbourn, 2008). The original definition was formulated in 1985 in the book Oxidative Stress, as “a disturbance in the prooxidant-antioxidant balance in favor of the former” (Sies, 1985), which describes the deviation from the steady state of reduction-oxidation (redox balance) in the system under consideration. The underlying biochemistry of oxidative stress was already known to quite some extent at the time (Sies, 1986). Research then focused on oxidative damage to biomolecules.

What is new?

Meanwhile, a substantial body of additional knowledge on the molecular basis of redox regulation identified an essential role of oxidants as second messenger. This revealed that oxidative stress is two-sided (Fig. 1): maintenance of a physiological (low) level of oxidant challenge is essential for governing life processes through redox signaling, termed oxidative eustress; excessive oxidant challenge causes damage to biomolecules, termed oxidative distress (see Sies, 2017; Sies, Berndt, & Jones, 2017) and discussion later). Oxidant signaling will address specific targets. These are targets that are the most redox sensitive and that are most closely positioned to the location of origin of the oxidant. Higher exposure to oxidants will “overflow” beyond the specific targets, reaching unspecific targets and potentially cause damage. Both these situations will elicit adaptive stress responses. A physiological “redox tone” is characterized by a physiological basal level of activity in the stress response systems, while excessive activation of stress response will lead to pathophysiological consequences such as inflammation and ultimately cell death.

Fig. 1 Oxidative stress and its relationship to redox signaling. Oxidants of different nature are produced by endogenous and exogenous (exposome) sources. Removal reactions (sinks) contribute to control of steady-state levels of the diverse oxidants. Low oxidant exposure allows for addressing specific targets in the use for redox signaling (oxidative eustress), while high exposure leads to disrupted redox signaling and/or damage to biomolecules (oxidative distress). Adaptive stress responses modulate and counteract. The outcome contributes to health and disease processes. Modified from Sies, H. (2017) Hydrogen peroxide as a central redox signaling molecule in physiological oxidative stress: Oxidative eustress. Redox Biology 11, 613–619; see also Sies, H. (2019). Oxidative stress: Eustress and distress in redox homeostasis. In G. Fink (Ed.). Stress: Physiology, biochemistry and pathology. Amsterdam: Elsevier, pp. 153–163. Creative Commons License.

This, in a nutshell, is the concept. However, understanding the dichotomy between eustress and distress and characterizing the boundary between them is a current challenge in redox research, as expressed in this book in considerable diversity and detail by the chapters provided by experts in the respective fields.

On the development of stress response concepts

Formulation of the basic principle of stress and stress responses dates back to Selye (1936). Early use of the term “stress” came from different fields of applied research such as rubber chemistry, examining redox reactions related to vulcanization of rubber (see Ore, 1956). Selye enlarged the scope from the general adaptation response in ensuing years (Selye, 1976). Extending the stress topic to the whole organism, he introduced the terms eustress and distress (Selye, 1975).

Focusing on oxidative eustress in molecular context, there has been considerable development. Bacteriologists revealed positive roles for redox-active metabolites in signaling and behavior, calling this “redox eustress” (Okegbe, Sakhtah, Sekedat, et al., 2012). Eustress, or “positive stress,” was viewed as an effector of epigenetic modulation in physical exercise (Sanchis-Gomar et al., 2012). Investigating lipid peroxidation, Niki noted that this process could “either turn to positive stimulus, eustress, or deleterious insult, distress” (Niki, 2009) (see also Niki, 2016 and Niki, this book). Aschbacher, O’Donovan, Wolkowitz, et al. (2013) defined “eustress” as “manageable levels of life stress [that] may enhance psychobiological resilience to oxidative damage” (see also Aschbacher, this book).

Lushchak introduced a classification of oxidative stress according to intensity (Lushchak, 2014). Steady-state levels of oxidants fluctuate within in a certain physiological range, and under challenge, these may increase or decrease, resulting in oxidative or reductive stress, respectively. There may be a return to initial conditions, but there can also be a new steady state as a result of adaptation. Acquisition of such new steady state has been called “allostasis” (Sterling & Eyer, 1988), literally meaning to achieve stability through change (McEwen, 2016). A similar term for this process is “adaptive homeostasis” (Davies, 2016). On the temporal scale, acute, chronic, and repetitive oxidative stresses have been examined (Pickering, Vojtovich, Tower, & Davies, 2013). Redox homeostasis has been phrased as the “golden mean of healthy living” (Ursini, Maiorino, & Forman, 2016). Some specific kinds of oxidative stress and related terms are listed in Table 1.

Table 1

Specific kinds of oxidative stress and some related terms.

Term
Oxidative eustress, physiological oxidative stress
Oxidative distress, pathophysiological oxidative stress
Oxidant stress, prooxidant stress
Redox stress, electrophilic stress
Hyperoxic stress
Hypoxic stress
Reductive stress
Hypostress, hyperstress
Environmental stress (sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and ozone)
Nutritional, dietary, postprandial oxidative stress
Photooxidative stress (UV-B, UV-A, visible, and infrared-A)
Light stress
Radiation-induced oxidative stress
Nitrooxidative, nitrosative, nitrative stress
Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress
Proteotoxic stress, disulfide stress
Glycoxidative stress
Dicarbonyl stress
Nanoparticle-induced oxidative stress
Shear stress
Energy stress, metabolic stress

See Sies (2015) and Sies et al. (2017) for details.

The evolution of conc...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• Contributors
• Preface
• Part 1: Conceptual
• Part 2: Oxidative eustress and distress: Processes and responses
• Part 3: Exposome
• Part 4: Oxidative stress in health and disease processes
• Index