Oxidative Stress in the Healthy and Wounded Hepatocyte: A Cellular Organelles Perspective

Accurate control of the cell redox state is mandatory for maintaining the structural integrity and physiological functions. This control is achieved both by a fine-tuned balance between prooxidant and anti-oxidant molecules and by spatial and temporal confinement of the oxidative species. The diverse cellular compartments each, although structurally and functionally related, actively maintain their own redox balance, which is necessary to fulfill specialized tasks. Many fundamental cellular processes such as insulin signaling, cell proliferation and differentiation and cell migration and adhesion, rely on localized changes in the redox state of signal transducers, which is mainly mediated by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Therefore, oxidative stress can also occur long before direct structural damage to cellular components, by disruption of the redox circuits that regulate the cellular organelles homeostasis. The hepatocyte is a systemic hub integrating the whole body metabolic demand, iron homeostasis and detoxification processes, all of which are redox-regulated processes. Imbalance of the hepatocyte’s organelles redox homeostasis underlies virtually any liver disease and is a field of intense research activity. This review recapitulates the evolving concept of oxidative stress in the diverse cellular compartments, highlighting the principle mechanisms of oxidative stress occurring in the healthy and wounded hepatocyte.