Ion channels perform a variety of cellular functions in lung epithelia. Oxidant- and antioxidant-mediated mechanisms (that is, redox regulation) of ion channels are areas of intense research. Significant progress has been made in our understanding of redox regulation of ion channels since the last Experimental Biology report in 2003. Advancements include: 1) identification of nonphagocytic NADP...

Molecular chaperones are stress proteins that allow the correct folding or unfolding as well as the assembly or disassembly of macromolecular cellular components. Changes in expression and post-translational modifications of chaperones have been linked to a number of age- and stress-related diseases including cancer, neurodegeneration, and cardiovascular diseases. Redox sensible post-translatio...

Redox regulation has been shown to be an important component of malignant cell survival. Tipping the cellular redox balance through pharmacologic regulation in favor of increasing intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and/or depleting protective reducing metabolites (such as glutathione and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate) may lead to oxidative stress and resultant induction o...

How do organisms sense the amount of oxygen in the environment and respond appropriately when the level of oxygen decreases? Oxygen sensing and the molecular stratagems underlying the process have been the focus of an endless number of investigations trying to find an answer to the question: "What is the identity of the oxygen sensor?" Dynamic changes in pO2 constitute a potential signaling mec...

Change in redox status has long been known to link light to the posttranslational regulation of chloroplast enzymes. So far, studies have been conducted primarily with thioredoxin-linked members of the stroma that function in a broad array of biosynthetic and degradatory processes. Consequently, little is known about the role of redox in regulating the growing number of enzymes found to occur i...

Redox modulation of protein activity by thioredoxins (TRXs) plays a key role in cellular regulation. Thioredoxin z (TRX z) and its interaction partner fructokinase-like protein 1 (FLN1) represent subunits of the plastid-encoded RNA polymerase (PEP), suggesting a role of both proteins in redox regulation of chloroplast gene expression. Loss of TRX z or FLN1 expression generates a PEP-deficient p...