Essential Signals Lost with Age
The article explains that mitochondrial ROS (Reactive Oxygen Species) are not just harmful byproducts but essential signaling molecules that regulate differentiation, metabolism, immune activation, and stress responses. These signals rely on tightly controlled ROS production, mainly from complexes I and III, and when this regulation falters, it drives various diseases. With aging, mitochondria become less efficient and produce chronically elevated, unregulated ROS, disrupting the precise redox signals needed for healthy function and leading to weakened stress responses, inflammation, and metabolic decline. The authors emphasize that aging results more from the loss of redox signaling than from oxidative damage itself, and that antioxidants cannot correct this. Future therapies must restore proper mitochondrial ROS signaling, not simply reduce ROS levels.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37107206/
