General redox-active cofactors and antioxidant network

The general redox-active cofactors and antioxidant network is a complex, integrated system of enzymes and small molecules dedicated to maintaining cellular redox homeostasis. This network includes essential cofactors such as nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+/NADH), glutathione (GSH), and various vitamins, alongside enzymatic defenses like superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, and the thioredoxin system (Sies et al., 2017, Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology). Its primary biological function is to neutralize reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS), thereby preventing oxidative damage to DNA, proteins, and lipids (Halliwell & Gutteridge, 2015, Free Radicals in Biology and Medicine). Beyond simple scavenging, the network plays a critical role in redox signaling, influencing pathways such as the Nrf2-Keap1 axis which regulates the expression of hundreds of cytoprotective genes. Dysregulation of this network is a hallmark of numerous diseases; for instance, cancer cells often upregulate antioxidant defenses to survive high metabolic stress, while neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by a failure of these systems to protect neurons from oxidative decay. While many drugs and supplements target individual components of this network, the high degree of redundancy and interconnectivity often makes it a challenging therapeutic target to modulate effectively without unintended systemic consequences (Forman & Zhang, 2021, Nature Reviews Drug Discovery). Consequently, therapeutic strategies are increasingly shifting from simple antioxidant supplementation toward more sophisticated modulation of the network's regulatory nodes.

Other names

Redox homeostasis systemAntioxidant defense systemCellular redox networkRedoxome

Modulation of cellular redox potential through direct scavenging of reactive oxygen species (ROS), enzymatic neutralization of peroxides, and transcriptional upregulation of antioxidant response elements (ARE) via the Nrf2 pathway (Forman & Zhang, 2021, Nature Reviews Drug Discovery).