Chapter category: Ischemia-Reperfusion
Superoxide Dismutase Regulating Apoptosis in Cancer Development: Therapeutic Implications
Chapter authors:
José M. Matés and Maite Asenjo
Metabolism of oxygen, and the resulting toxic by-products can causes cancer and death. The oxygen paradox tells us that oxygen is both necessary for aerobic life and toxic to all life forms. Free radical in form of active oxygen, named superoxide, now touch every biological and medical discipline, supporting the idea that active oxygen may be increased in tumor cells. Efforts to counteract the damage caused by this specie are gaining acceptance as a basis for novel therapeutic approaches and the field of prevention of cancer is experiencing an upsurge of interest in medically useful antioxidants. Apoptosis is an important means of regulating cell numbers in the developing cell system, but it is so important that it must be controlled. Normal cell death in homeostasis of multicellular organisms is mediated through tightly regulated apoptotic pathways that involve superoxide regulation. Defective signalling through these pathways can contribute to both, unbalance in apoptosis and development of cancer.
