Thioredoxin and metabolic regulation.

The regulatory function of thioredoxin, discovered in studies on carbon dioxide assimilation in photosynthesis, was extended to enzymes of related biosynthetic reactions of chloroplasts early on. More recently, thioredoxin was found to perform a range of regulatory functions--from the germination of seeds to the division and development of animal cells. The renaissance in knowledge relating to its activity suggests that thioredoxin will, on the one hand, emerge as a principal regulator of fundamental processes in the major forms of life and, on the other, find application in technology and medicine.