Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) are highly reactive oxygen containing molecules involved in many important cellular function, cellular homeostasis, signaling pathways and immune response. The imbalance of ROS levels has been associated in the development of various chronic and degenerative diseases including cancer, diabetes, respiratory and neurodegenerative diseases. The optimal or moderate levels of ROS is ideal for normal physiological function whereas low or high level of ROS lead to diseases, especially cancer.
The contribution of ROS in cancer been demonstrated in all three stages of its development, i.e. tumor initiation, promotion, and progression. Tumor cells per se exhibit elevated ROS levels compared to normal cells due to increased metabolic rate and certain genetic mutations. This specific nature of cancer cells can be targeted for therapeutic purposes. At ScirosBio, we are exploiting this differentiating nature of cancer cells with high ROS levels to achieve oxidative stress–induced cell death using our RAID platform generated ROS-modulators.