Review of the Relationship between Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) and Elastin-Derived Peptides (EDPs)

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are central elements of a number of physiological processes such as differentiation and intracellular signaling, as well as pathological processes, e.g., inflammation or apoptosis. ROS are involved in the growth and proliferation of stem cells, cell communication, cell aging, all types of inflammation, cancer development and proliferation, or type 2 diabetes. Elastin-derived peptides (EDPs) are detected in all these conditions and, according to the current state of knowledge, the role of the extracellular matrix (ECM) protein is crucial. It is believed that EDPs are a result of the aforementioned pathological conditions and are generated during degradation of ECM. However, as shown in the literature, the production of EDPs can be induced not only by inter alia chemical, enzymatic, and physical factors but also directly by ROS. No comprehensive study of the impact of ROS on EDPs and EDPs on ROS production has been conducted to date; therefore, the aim of this paper is to summarize the current state of knowledge of the relationship between ROS and ECM with special involvement of EDPs in the processes mentioned above. Depending on the type of cells, tissue, or organism, the relationships between ROS and ECM/EDPs may differ completely.