Table 1.
Definition of Terms
| Term | Definition | References |
|---|---|---|
| Stress and adaptation | ||
| Stress/adaptation to stress | The term stress, as used in biomedical literature, was coined by Hans Selye in the 1930s, who defined it as ‘the nonspecific response of the body to any demand for change’ | (166) |
| Cellular stress response | A set of cellular responses (including the downregulation of protein synthesis and upregulation of transcription factors involved in defense and repair mechanisms) common to all eukaryotes aimed at coping with various forms of stress; also known as ‘integrated stress response’ | (141, 150) |
| Hormesis | Beneficial effects of low levels of stress (“what does not kill us makes us stronger”) | (121) |
| Redox chemistry and biology | ||
| Oxidative stress | An imbalance between oxidants and antioxidants in favor of the oxidants, leading to a disruption of redox signaling and control and/or molecular damage | (176) |
| Reactive species | Compounds with high chemical reactivity produced enzymatically or nonenzymatically; the interaction of reactive species may produce other reactive species | (73) |
| Reactive oxygen species (ROS) | Chemically reactive compounds derived from oxygen | |
| Reactive nitrogen species (RNS) | Chemically reactive compounds originating from the reaction of nitric oxide with oxygen or oxygen-derived compounds | |
| Reactive sulfur species (RSS) | According to Jacobs et al. produced by toxification of thiols by reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, including disulfide-S-oxides, sulfenic acids, and thiyl radicals, and predicted to modulate the redox status of biological thiols and disulfides; more recently, RSS were discussed as putative regulatory entities of biological significance | (67, 126) |
| Reactive species interactome (RSI) | Chemical interaction of RSS, RNS, and ROS (possibly including other short-lived species to be discovered in the future) among themselves and with downstream biological targets. The RSI is characterized by (i) high variability/adaptability; (ii) rapid responsiveness; (iii) flexibility, which is required for fine-tuning of biological functions and communication at multiple levels; and (iv) high redundancy (explaining why antioxidants do not work) | This review |
| Redox regulation | A term used to define the control of redox signaling | (176) |
| Redox code | A set of principles that defines the positioning of the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD, NADP), thiol/disulfide, and other redox systems, as well as the thiol redox proteome in space and time in biological systems | (94) |
| Personalized and redox medicine | ||
| Redox switches/protein thiol switches | Protein thiols that are specifically and reversibly modified by oxidation, thereby switching the protein between different conformational and functional states | (15,70) |
| Personalized medicine | Healthcare that is tailored to individual condition, needs, and lifestyle (in contrast to one size fits all approach) | |
| Precision medicine | Healthcare that is tailored to the basis of an individual's genes, lifestyle, and environment | (81) |
| Stratified medicine | A therapy that is targeted to a specific patient population on the basis of a clinical characteristic such as a biomarker that predicts treatment response | (194) |
| Redox medicine/redox diseases | Diseases with involvement of aberrant redox regulation/processes ranging from oxidative to reductive stress | (26, 206) |
| P4 medicine | Predictive, personalized, preventive, and participatory (P4) medicine. P4 medicine is fueled by systems approaches to disease, emerging technologies, and analytical tools | (84) |
| Developmental origins of health and disease | A paradigm affirming that environmental influences experienced during early embryonic development may influence the risk of noncommunicable diseases later in life and across generations | (77) |
The table defines the scientific terms used in the Review; the defined terms were marked in italics in the main text.
RNS, reactive nitrogen species; ROS, reactive oxygen species; RSI, reactive species interactome; RSS, reactive sulfur species.