Dai Xiaofeng, Huang Zizheng, Lyu Ruohan
The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University Xi'an Jiaotong University Xi'an China.
Department of Statistics Beijing Forestry University Beijing China.
MedComm (2020). 2025 Sep 21;6(10):e70396. doi: 10.1002/mco2.70396. eCollection 2025 Oct.
Free radicals, molecules with unpaired electrons, are double-edged swords. While they may cause damages to cells and threaten human health, they play essential roles in cellular signaling toward mitochondrial and immune homeostasis. Overproduction or insufficient supply of free radicals can both lead to health concerns and disease syndromes by causing oxidative or reductive stress to cells. Current redox therapies frequently fail clinically due to imprecise dosing and targeting, causing therapeutic futility or paradoxical harm by disrupting redox homeostasis, necessitating integrated frameworks linking redox biology to precision interventions alongside therapeutic innovation. This review explores free radicals' generation sources, characterizes mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation and pathological hyperglycemia as pivotal endogenous sources, and proposes oxygen and transition metals as fundamental regulators. This paper synthesizes multidimensional molecular mechanisms and pathologies arising from redox dysregulation and establishes reductive stress as a critical pathogenesis driver alongside oxidative stress. This review discusses free radical approaches and proposes cold atmospheric plasma as a transformative redox-modulating technology capable of bridging therapeutic dichotomies through calibrated interventions. By integrating mechanistic insights with innovative methodologies, this work underscores the imperative to innovatively harness the dual nature of free radicals for precision health and disease management.
自由基，即带有未成对电子的分子，是一把双刃剑。虽然它们可能会对细胞造成损害并威胁人类健康，但它们在细胞向线粒体和免疫稳态的信号传导中发挥着重要作用。自由基的过量产生或供应不足都可能通过对细胞造成氧化或还原应激而导致健康问题和疾病综合征。由于剂量不准确和靶向性不强，目前的氧化还原疗法在临床上经常失败，通过破坏氧化还原稳态导致治疗无效或产生矛盾的伤害，因此需要将氧化还原生物学与精准干预以及治疗创新联系起来的综合框架。本综述探讨了自由基的产生来源，将线粒体氧化磷酸化和病理性高血糖表征为关键的内源性来源，并提出氧和过渡金属作为基本调节因子。本文综合了氧化还原失调产生的多维分子机制和病理学，并将还原应激确立为与氧化应激并列的关键发病机制驱动因素。本综述讨论了自由基方法，并提出冷大气等离子体作为一种变革性的氧化还原调节技术，能够通过校准干预弥合治疗二分法。通过将机制见解与创新方法相结合，这项工作强调了创新利用自由基的双重性质进行精准健康和疾病管理的必要性。
