Physiological Oxygen and its Importance in Redox Biology - Application Bulletins

When cellular oxygen levels change, the first response is metabolic: a response that rapidly translates into physiological changes. The central event for metabolic activity in most cells is mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, both in ATP production and oxygen consumption. Treating cells in aberrant levels of oxygen during experiments has direct effects on the function of oxidative phosphorylation thus perturbating all cellular events. In attempt to detect and understand subtle cellular reactions, attention needs to be paid to the basic conditions of the cells in order to establish solid grounds for translational results.