Oxidative stress not only injures the cellular components but also induces cellular responses, including apoptosis and gene activation. To protect ourselves against such harmful stress, we are equipped with a variety of antioxidant mechanisms. In this symposium, the molecular basis of deduction/oxidation regulation was first discussed. Second, a new attempt to oxidative stress was introduced. Third, the pathological role of oxidative stress in autoimmune diseased was discussed. Next, oxidative stress was shown to participate in cardiovascular diseases. Finally, oxidative stress was shown to have an important role in the generation of amyloidotic lesions. In order to establish a concept of "oxidative stress disease", it is urgent to develop reliable test methods to detect oxidative stress in vivo as well as in vitro.

*1Department of Biomedical Informatics, Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe University, Kobe 650-0017