Understanding ROS signaling and evolution during animal regeneration offers promising opportunities for novel therapeutic approaches
Abstract
Despite their potentially harmful oxidative properties, Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) have been harnessed by living organisms during evolution as signaling molecules involved in various physiological processes. In the past fifteen years, they have been recognized across metazoans-from cnidarians to vertebrates-as consistent actors of restorative regeneration, the process by which organisms rebuild lost body parts. This discovery suggests that ROS could represent a conserved mechanism underlying regeneration and a valuable target to enhance regenerative capacity in poorly regenerating species such as humans. Yet, growing evidence shows that the regulatory roles and modes of action of ROS vary considerably among species. Consequently, it appears necessary to continue studying the involvement of ROS in the regenerative process of a various species, to distinguish between common and species-specific mechanisms. Such knowledge could offer perspective as to how ROS came to be involved in the regenerative process of different metazoan species during evolution and, more broadly, how they fit into the still unresolved evolutionary history of regeneration. In addition, by enabling us to better understand why some species regenerate better than others, and how their regenerative capacities may have changed during evolution, we argue that such studies will help identify new avenues in regenerative medicine. In this review, we synthesise the literature evidencing the involvement and requirement of ROS during regeneration in various species and structures, identifying major knowledge gaps, and we highlight the need for further thorough investigation of the role of ROS in metazoan species for both evolutionary and therapeutic perspectives.
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BibTeX
@article{vullien2026understanding,
title = {{Understanding ROS signaling and evolution during animal regeneration offers promising opportunities for novel therapeutic approaches}},
author = {Aurore Vullien and Jennifer John and Christine Rampon and Enrique Amaya and Eric Röttinger and Eve Gazave},
journal = {Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1007/s00018-026-06392-x},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05750975v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Understanding ROS signaling and evolution during animal regeneration offers promising opportunities for novel therapeutic approaches
AU - Aurore Vullien
AU - Jennifer John
AU - Christine Rampon
AU - Enrique Amaya
AU - Eric Röttinger
AU - Eve Gazave
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/09
JO - Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences
DO - 10.1007/s00018-026-06392-x
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05750975v1
AB - Despite their potentially harmful oxidative properties, Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) have been harnessed by living organisms during evolution as signaling molecules involved in various physiological processes. In the past fifteen years, they have been recognized across metazoans-from cnidarians to vertebrates-as consistent actors of restorative regeneration, the process by which organisms rebuild lost body parts. This discovery suggests that ROS could represent a conserved mechanism underlying regeneration and a valuable target to enhance regenerative capacity in poorly regenerating species such as humans. Yet, growing evidence shows that the regulatory roles and modes of action of ROS vary considerably among species. Consequently, it appears necessary to continue studying the involvement of ROS in the regenerative process of a various species, to distinguish between common and species-specific mechanisms. Such knowledge could offer perspective as to how ROS came to be involved in the regenerative process of different metazoan species during evolution and, more broadly, how they fit into the still unresolved evolutionary history of regeneration. In addition, by enabling us to better understand why some species regenerate better than others, and how their regenerative capacities may have changed during evolution, we argue that such studies will help identify new avenues in regenerative medicine. In this review, we synthesise the literature evidencing the involvement and requirement of ROS during regeneration in various species and structures, identifying major knowledge gaps, and we highlight the need for further thorough investigation of the role of ROS in metazoan species for both evolutionary and therapeutic perspectives.
SN - 1420-682X
SN - 1420-9071
ER -