Redox Report

Redox Biomarkers and Redox-Targeted Therapeutics: From Mechanism to Clinical Translation

Oxidative stress and disrupted redox signalling are implicated in cardiovascular, kidney, liver, metabolic, neurodegenerative, inflammatory and age-related diseases, in cancer, and in tissue injury after ischaemia and reperfusion. Despite decades of mechanistic research, translating this knowledge into clinical practice has proved difficult. Many redox biomarkers remain insufficiently validated or standardised, and interventions that were effective in preclinical models, including antioxidant supplements and agents targeting mitochondrial dysfunction or reperfusion injury, have often not shown consistent benefit in patients. In cancer, antioxidants may protect normal tissue from treatment toxicity but may also support tumour survival, while deliberately raising oxidative stress is itself a therapeutic strategy. Progress depends on understanding which redox changes drive disease, which merely reflect it, and how they can be measured and modulated reliably in humans.

Advances in analytical chemistry, redox proteomics and metabolomics now allow oxidised lipids, proteins, thiols and reactive species to be quantified in human samples with greater precision. For example, mass spectrometry can resolve the oxidation states of albumin Cys34, which reflect systemic oxidative stress and have shown promise as a clinical biomarker. These tools allow antioxidant and redox-active approaches to be re-evaluated with better trial design, redox endpoints and patient stratification. Water-soluble agents such as vitamin C and lipid-soluble agents such as tocopherols and tocotrienols act in different compartments and can be studied separately and in combination. Dietary polyphenols, established drugs with redox activity (such as captopril, statins and metformin), mitochondria-targeted compounds and Nrf2 activators can likewise be assessed for whether their benefit reflects direct scavenging or indirect mechanisms. This calls for a forum that connects the mechanistic, analytical, pharmacological and clinical strands of redox research.

This Article Collection will publish original research articles and reviews on redox biomarkers and redox-targeted interventions in human disease. We particularly welcome rigorous studies that measure redox endpoints in patients or clinical samples, as well as critical appraisals of why redox-based approaches succeed or fail. The Collection will be a resource for biochemists, chemists, cell biologists, pharmacologists, pathophysiologists and clinicians.

Topics of interest

• Discovery, validation and clinical utility of redox biomarkers
• Plasma thiols and albumin oxidation as markers of systemic redox state
• Redox proteomics and mass spectrometry in patient samples
• Water-soluble (e.g. vitamin C) and lipid-soluble (tocopherols, tocotrienols, coenzyme Q10) antioxidants in disease prevention and supplementation
• Dose, timing, bioavailability, interactions and patient stratification in antioxidant trials
• Polyphenols, resveratrol and other dietary phytochemicals: bioavailability, direct versus indirect mechanisms, and effects on redox biomarkers
• Redox effects of established drugs (e.g. captopril, statins, metformin, thiol-containing agents) and their contribution to clinical benefit
• Nrf2 activators, NADPH oxidase inhibitors and other pathway-targeted therapeutics
• Mitochondria-targeted antioxidants and related agents in mitochondrial disease
• Mitochondrial ROS as signals versus damaging agents, and implications for antioxidant design
• Redox mechanisms and therapeutic targets in reperfusion injury such as after stroke and myocardial infarction
• Free radical scavengers and cytoprotective agents in acute care
• Antioxidants and redox-active agents to reduce chemotherapy and radiotherapy toxicity
• Effects of antioxidants on tumour growth and treatment response, pro-oxidant strategies, and redox biomarkers of response

Keywords:

• redox biomarkers
• oxidative stress
• antioxidant therapy
• mitochondrial dysfunction
• clinical translation

Guest Advisor:

Dr Victor Chuang is a pharmacist and academic with more than 20 years of experience at universities in Malaysia, Japan, New Zealand and Australia. His research interests include plasma protein therapeutics, oxidative stress mechanisms in disease and therapeutics, and machine learning applications in pharmaceutical processes. For further details about Dr Chuang's professional profile, kindly refer to these links: https://profiles.curtin.edu.au/4218-victor-chuang, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2141-630X

Disclosure Statement: Guest Advisor has no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Please review the journal scope and author submission instructions prior to submitting a manuscript.

To submit your papers to this Article Collection, please:

1. Check "yes" for the question, "Are you submitting your paper for a specific special issue or article collection?"
2. Select the Article Collection "Redox Biomarkers and Redox-Targeted Therapeutics: From Mechanism to Clinical Translation" from the drop-down menu under the question, "Special Issue or Article Collection Name."

Please contact Changluan Zhou at changluan.zhou@taylorandfrancis.com with any queries and discount codes regarding this Article Collection.