On the cartography of redox signaling: peroxiporins as landmark doorways

Temporal gradients of ROS arising from different cell compartments transduce redox messages along the cell. Today, it is of no discussion that these signals play paramount roles in multiple cellular pathways and the most stable species H2O2 is widely accepted as the who. Yet, we have still important gaps in our knowledge about the where and when, and, importantly due to its involvement in disease and connections with metabolism, how this essential second messenger is controlled to avoid the harmful effects intrinsic to its hormesis. Being H2O2 producers and targets physically separated by a lipid barrier, membrane transport through bilayers stands out as a fundamental piece in the puzzle of the aforesaid how. Specific peroxiporins reside in each cellular membrane, predicting that the doors to the cytosol lead to corridors that will constitute privileged routers for redox signalling. Using genetically encoded sensors either fused to these H2O2 conduits or targeted to different organelles, we have started to trace the cartography of redox signals across the cell. The strategy has revealed interorganellar crosstalks and the existence of topologically restrained regions, suggesting that the subset of targets reached depend on their localization to the fluxes emanating from these channels.

On the cartography of redox signaling: peroxiporins as landmark doorways Articles