“…Alternatively, ROS can indirectly modulate molecules containing high thiol-disulfide oxidation potentials, such as thioredoxin or glutathione Stransferase (Adler et al, 1999a;Adler et al, 1999b;Saitoh et al, 1998) and thereby influence cellular processes. It has been shown that ROS play a significant role in mediation of inflammatory defense mechanisms (Darrah et al, 2000;Davies, 1995;Vazquez-Torres et al, 2000), regulation of transcription factors (Devary et al, 1991;Meyer et al, 1993), enzyme activity (Lopez-Ongil et al, 2000), cell proliferation (Preston et al, 2001;Kim et al, 2001) and various other crucial physiological signal transduction pathways (Finkel, 2000;Kamata and Hirata, 1999;Remacle et al, 1995;Suzuki et al, 1997). Exogenously applied oxidants, such as H 2 O 2 , can mimic cellular responses to physiological stimulants, including the stimulation of cell metabolism and growth via the insulin, epidermal growth factor (EGF) or platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) receptors (Fantus et al, 1989;Gamou and Shimizu, 1995;Hayes and Lockwood, 1987;Heffetz et al, 1990;Knebel et al, 1996).…”