Aberrant Oxidation of Biomolecules

Aberrant oxidation of biomolecules (AOB) is defined as the covalent oxidation of biomolecules, such as lipids, nucleic acids, and proteins, caused either by a direct oxidation induced by radical and non-radical oxidizing species or by an indirect reaction involving the secondary reactive by-products arising from the oxidized biomolecules. 

For several decades, scientific effort has been directed at better understanding the oxidation mechanisms leading to AOB as well as setting up and applying analytical methods for their qualitative and quantitative analysis. In recent years, AOB have been mainly considered as biomarkers for evaluating oxidative stress and studying the antioxidant activity of compounds.

Even more recently, the causative role of AOB in some diseases was proposed, thus stimulating a growing interest in the biological activity of AOB and in the therapeutic strategies based on AOB as a drug target. The research on AOB has progressed lately due to the availability of novel analytical strategies suitable for AOB analysis and, in particular, lipidomic and proteomic approaches. These analytical techniques have partially overcome some limiting aspects in AOB research, such as their high structural heterogeneity and their low abundance with respect to their native forms.

Hence, AOB research is stimulating because it leads to the discovery of novel pathogenetic mechanisms and novel potential therapeutic approaches.

The section, Aberrant Oxidation of Biomolecules will be a stimulating forum, collecting novel contributions spanning all the different aspects of AOB, including analysis, mechanisms of formation, molecular biological mechanisms, and clinical and therapeutic approaches.

The section will also welcome studies of AOB in plants and food and in other emerging fields.