Singlet oxygen-induced signaling effects in mammalian cells.

Singlet oxygen, an electronically excited form of molecular oxygen, may be generated photochemically or in dark reactions in vivo. Singlet oxygen is not only toxic to cells and impairs signaling events but is also capable of eliciting a cellular stress response. The signaling processes initiated in this response include the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases. Two possible activation mechanisms of signaling pathways by singlet oxygen are the generation of positive regulators as well as the inactivation of negative regulators.