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Abstract
The superoxide free radical has come to occupy an amazingly central role in a wide
variety of diseases. Our metabolic focus on aerobic energy metabolism in all cell
types, coupled with some chemical peculiarities of the oxygen molecule itself, contribute
to the phenomenon. Superoxide is not, as we once thought, just a toxic but unavoidable
byproduct of oxygen metabolism. Rather it appears to be a carefully regulated metabolite
capable of signaling and communicating important information to the cell's genetic
machinery. Redox regulation of gene expression by superoxide and other related oxidants
and antioxidants is beginning to unfold as a vital mechanism in health and disease.