Arnold Stern

Although oxygen is life sustaining, in biological systems it may undergo chemical changes by metabolism or reactions with endogenous and exogenous compounds to produce reactive molecules that are potentially hazardous to health. Organisms have evolved numerous antioxidant protective systems to interact with these reactive molecules and thereby keep their levels low. At low concentrations, however, some reactive molecules generated during oxygen metabolism can regulate and sustain growth.

Our laboratory has had a long-standing interest in the growth regulatory and cytotoxic role of oxygen metabolism in biological processes. Because cellular growth is primarily mediated by internally liberated growth factors and oxygen metabolism may also contribute to cellular growth, we seek to determine whether oxygen metabolism modulates growth factor-mediated cellular responses. Our studies may help define the relationship between endogenous physiological responses to growth and the influence of environmental toxicants that react with oxygen on the growth factor-mediated signal transduction pathway. Our results should elucidate how human health is compromised by exposure to chemicals and pharmaceuticals in our environment and how environmental exposures to toxicants may modulate the underlying physiological response.