How do reactive oxygen species act as signaling molecules?

At controlled levels, reactive oxygen species act as secondary messengers that modulate signaling pathways such as NRF2, MAPK, NF-κB, and FoxO. Excessive ROS disrupt signaling homeostasis and cause oxidative damage.

Which biomarkers are commonly used to study oxidative stress?

Common oxidative stress biomarkers include antioxidant genes such as SOD, CAT, and GPX, redox regulators like NRF2 and HMOX1, pro-oxidant enzymes such as NOX, and oxidative damage markers including MDA and 8-OHdG.

Oxidative Stress Signaling Pathways – ROS, Cellular Defense and Biomarker Analysis

Q: Which signaling pathways are involved in oxidative stress?

Key oxidative stress signaling pathways include NRF2/KEAP1 antioxidant signaling, NF-κB inflammatory signaling, MAPK pathways (ERK, JNK, p38), FoxO transcription factor signaling, and HIF-1α redox adaptation signaling.

Q: Which diseases are associated with dysregulated oxidative stress signaling?

Dysregulated oxidative stress signaling is associated with cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular disorders, metabolic diseases, chronic inflammation, and aging-related pathologies.

What are oxidative stress signaling pathways?

Oxidative stress signaling pathways describe the cellular mechanisms activated in response to an imbalance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and antioxidant defenses.
At physiological levels, ROS act as signaling molecules regulating cell proliferation, immune responses, and metabolic adaptation. When ROS levels exceed antioxidant capacity, oxidative stress triggers signaling cascades that alter gene expression, inflammation, and cell fate.

Dysregulation of oxidative stress signaling pathways contributes to cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular disorders, metabolic syndromes, and aging.

Oxidative stress signaling pathway activity can be efficiently assessed by measuring gene expression of redox regulators, downstream targets, and pathway-specific biomarker signatures.

Oxidative stress biomarker list
View the genes included in our Oxidative stress-related qPCR arrayss.

A proposed model of how a favorable redox environment prevents vascular endothelial dysfunction and possibly the risk
for cardiovascular disease in an uncontrolled and controlled redox environment.

Key takeaways

Central regulators of redox homeostasis and cellular adaptation
Balance ROS signaling and antioxidant defense mechanisms
Strong cross-talk with inflammation, metabolism, and stress pathways
Highly implicated in chronic diseases and aging
Ideal for biomarker discovery and targeted gene expression analysis

Core mechanisms of oxidative stress signaling

ROS generation

Mitochondria
NADPH oxidases (NOX)
Environmental stressors (UV, toxins, inflammation)

Antioxidant response

Enzymatic: SOD, CAT, GPX
Non-enzymatic: glutathione, vitamins C and E

Redox signaling

Controlled ROS activate transcriptional programs
Excess ROS cause DNA, protein, and lipid damage

Major signaling pathways involved in oxidative stress

NRF2 / KEAP1 pathway – master regulator of antioxidant gene expression
NF-κB signaling – links oxidative stress to inflammation
MAPK pathways (ERK, JNK, p38) – stress response and apoptosis
FoxO transcription factors – oxidative stress resistance and longevity
HIF-1α signaling – redox adaptation under hypoxia

Key components and biomarkers

ROS species: O₂⁻, H₂O₂, •OH
Pro-oxidant enzymes: NOX, XO
Antioxidant genes: SODs, CAT, GPXs, HMOX1
Redox regulators: NRF2, KEAP1
Oxidative damage markers: MDA, 8-OHdG

Oxidative stress signaling pathways in disease

Neurodegeneration: Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s
Cancer: genomic instability, tumor progression, therapy resistance
Cardiovascular diseases: atherosclerosis, endothelial dysfunction
Metabolic disorders & aging: insulin resistance, chronic inflammation

Why study oxidative stress signaling pathways with AnyGenes®?

At AnyGenes®, we provide high-performance qPCR arrays and customizable SignArrays® dedicated to oxidative stress signaling pathway analysis.

Our solutions enable researchers to:

Quantify ROS-regulated gene expression signatures
Analyze NRF2, NF-κB, MAPK and FoxO pathways
Identify redox-sensitive biomarkers
Generate reproducible, publication-ready data

Oxidative stress signaling pathway biomarker analysis with AnyGenes®

What can be analyzed?

ROS-producing and antioxidant enzymes
Redox-regulated transcription factors
Inflammation and stress response genes
Disease-associated oxidative stress biomarkers

Customize your own signaling pathways (SignArrays^®) with the factors of your choice!
Simply download and complete our Personalized SignArrays^® information file and send it at [email protected] to initiate your project.

Frequently asked questions

What are oxidative stress signaling pathways?

Oxidative stress signaling pathways are cellular signaling mechanisms activated in response to reactive oxygen species (ROS). They regulate antioxidant defenses, inflammation, metabolism, and cell fate decisions depending on redox balance.

How do reactive oxygen species (ROS) act as signaling molecules?

At controlled levels, ROS act as secondary messengers that modulate pathways such as NRF2, MAPK, NF-κB, and FoxO. Excessive ROS disrupt signaling homeostasis and cause oxidative damage.

Which signaling pathways are involved in oxidative stress?

Major oxidative stress signaling pathways include:

NRF2 / KEAP1 antioxidant signaling
NF-κB inflammatory signaling
MAPK pathways (ERK, JNK, p38)
FoxO transcription factor signaling
HIF-1α redox adaptation pathway

What diseases are associated with dysregulated oxidative stress signaling?

Dysregulated oxidative stress signaling contributes to cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular disorders, metabolic diseases, chronic inflammation, and aging-related pathologies.

How can oxidative stress signaling pathways be analyzed?

Oxidative stress signaling pathways can be analyzed by measuring gene expression of ROS regulators, antioxidant enzymes, transcription factors, and downstream targets using targeted gene expression approaches such as qPCR pathway arrays.

Pruchniak MP, Aražna M & Demkow U. Biochemistry of Oxidative Stress. Adv Exp Med Biol. (2016) 878:9-19.
Ihsan AU & al. Role of oxidative stress in pathology of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome and male infertility and antioxidants function in ameliorating oxidative stress. Biomed Pharmacother. (2018) 106:714-723.
Peña-Oyarzun D & al. Autophagy and oxidative stress in non-communicable diseases: A matter of the inflammatory state?. Free Radic Biol Med. (2018) 20;124:61-78.
Liguori I & al. Oxidative stress, aging, and diseases. Clin Interv Aging. (2018) 26;13:757-772.
Simioni C & al. Oxidative stress: role of physical exercise and antioxidant nutraceuticals in adulthood and aging. Oncotarget. (2018) 30; 9(24): 17181–17198.
Varadharaj S & al. Role of Dietary Antioxidants in the Preservation of Vascular Function and the Modulation of Health and Disease. Front Cardiovasc Med. (2017) 1;4:64.

Oxidative damage signaling pathway biomarker list

You can check the biomarker list included in this pathway, see below:

Species : Homo sapiens (human)

Human Oxidative stress signaling pathways

Signaling Pathways	Product ref	Informations
Oxidative Stress	OS1H1	List infos

Species : Mus musculus (mouse)

Mouse signaling pathway

Signaling Pathways	Product ref	Informations
Oxidative Stress	OS1M1	List infos

Species : Rattus norvegicus (rat)

Rat signaling pathway

Signaling Pathways	Product ref	Informations
Oxidative Stress	*******	List In progress...

Species : Sus Scrofa (Pig)

Pig signaling pathway

Signaling Pathways	Product ref	Informations
Oxidative Stress	*******	List In progress...

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