Table 1.

Key papers in the history of redox biology - a biased view.

Year	Key finding	Reference
1954	Gerschman and coworkers notes oxygen poisoning resembles X-ray damage and propose free radical involvement	[1]
1956	Harman proposes the free radical theory of aging	[2]
1958	Szent-Gyorgyi proposed involvement of free radicals in biological systems	[5]
1967	Esterbauer describes the production of 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE)	[66]
1969	McCord and Fridovich discover superoxide dismutase	[3]
1970	Meister describes the γ-glutamyl cycle in glutathione biosynthesis	[34]
1972	Boveris Oshino, and Chance discover production of H2O2 by mitochondria	[16]
1973	Babior and coworkers demonstrate O2 production by phagocytes	[30]
1974	Two labs demonstrate O2 production by mitochondrial respiratory chain	[17,18]
1974	Crapo and Tierney demonstrate adaptation to hyperoxia in rats correlates with increased superoxide dismutase	[26]
1976	Cadenas and Boveris show that ubisemiquinone oxidation is the source of mitochondrial O2·−	[19]
1977	Murad demonstrates nitric oxide induction of cyclic GMP	[106]
1979	Ignarro demonstrates muscle relaxation by nitro compounds including NO	[107]
1981	Furchgott describes endothelial derived relaxing factor (EDRF)	[108]
1983	Lands demonstrates peroxide tone regulates cyclooxygenase	[44]
1984- 1985	Comporti, Dianzani, Poli, Slater, and Esterbauer demonstrate pathology due to HNE	[66,67] [70]
1985	Sies defines oxidative stress	[35]
1987	Poli demonstrates that HNE acts as a stimulant of signaling	[72]
1989	Gopalakrishna and Anderson demonstrate H2O2 activation of classical protein kinase C	[43]
1991	Schreck and coworkers demonstrate NF-κB activation by addition of exogenous H2O2 to lymphocytes	[50]
1991	Rushmore and Pickett discover the antioxidant response element (aka EpRE)	[79]
1994	Forman and coworkers demonstrate that quinones induce glutamate cysteine ligase (GCL)	[38]
1995	Mulcahy and coworkers show that EpRE regulates	[81]
1996	Kaul and Forman demonstrate activation of NFκB by endogenously generated H2O2 in macrophages	[51]
1996	Venugopal and Jaiswal identify Nrf2 as regulator of EpRE	[109]
1998	Denu and Tanner demonstrate reversible inactivation of PTP1B by H2O2	[110]
1999	Lambeth and coworkers discover the NOX DuOX family of enzymes is found in almost all cells	[55]
1999	Chock demonstrates glutathionylation of PTP1B	[111]
2001	Kensler, Yamamoto and coworkers demonstrate link of Nrf2 deficiency to carcinogenesis	[112]
2002	Talalay, Yamamoto, and coworkers demonstrate Keap1 modification by electrophiles	[113]
2003	Nel and coworkers demonstrate a role for oxidants in signaling by air pollution particle exacerbation of asthma	[114]
2003	Yamamoto, Hayes and coworkers demonstrate Keap1 facilitates Nrf2 degradation	[115]
2004	Levonen, Darley-Usmar and coworkers show HNE conjugates to Keap1	[116]
2004	Hagen and coworkers demonstrate loss of Nrf2 signaling in aging	[100]
2006	Forman and coworkers demonstrate selective and reversible PTP1B glutathionylation during signaling	[90]