Redox environment and its meaning for breast cancer cells fate.

This review attempts to provide a broad overview of the changes in the cellular redox environment in breast cancer cells. The regulatory power of the redox environment lies in its capacity to control the growth behavior, spread, and differentiation. Neoplastic cells adapt to a wide variety of environmental conditions, including persistent oxidative stress and genomic instability by shifting their redox environment to more reductive conditions, which in its turn triggers upregulation of various redox sensitive prosurvival pathways. This review also examines the interactions between prosurvival signaling pathways, metallothioneins, and hydrogen peroxide generating dual oxidase, and presents a hypothesis to explain their relevance for therapeutic response.