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Reactive oxygen species (ROS), represented in particular with free radicals O₂, OH, ROO easily damage important bio-macromolecules, initiate uncontrolled chain reactions resulting in deterioration of supramolecular structures. Due to such properties ROS are usually considered to be the universal pathogens, and their generation in living systems is looked upon as a grievous though inevitable price for aerobic respiration.

We consider this concept to be one-sided because it ignores a lot of evidence showing that ROS are absolutely necessary for the normal vital activity. Human beings and animals suffer if they continuously inhale air and drink water deficient of ROS. On the other hand, more than 10-15%, and under the special conditions up to 30% of oxygen consumed by animals goes to ROS production. Numerous investigations demonstrate the key role of ROS in the bio-informational processes. ROS determine the outcome of a cell reaction upon different hormones, neurotransmitters, cytokines. On the other hand ROS themselves may imitate the action of bio-molecular regulators upon the living cells. Bio-molecular regulators may, in their turn, modulate ROS production by the cells. But if ROS are devoid of the specificity attributed to bio-molecular regulators, how can they provide precise regulation of the cellular functions?

It is well known that the chemical reactions with ROS participation, and in particular the reactions of radical recombination are followed with electron excitation of the reaction products. Though the substantial part of oxygen consumed by an organism is used for ROS generation, the current levels of ROS in cells and tissues are very low, because the so called «antioxidants» of enzymatic and of other nature provide the high rate of ROS recombination and their transformation into other substances. Hence, electron excited species are generated in an organism with high intensity. Due to the molecular and supra-molecular structural organization of the cytoplasm and of the intercellular matrix the energy released with their relaxation into ground states do not convert into heat, rather it may accumulate in macromolecules, supramolecular ensembles, be shared among them either radiatively or by radiative-less mechanisms. Due to high average rates of ROS production and consumption slight variations in the their inflow and/or outflow may be followed with sharp leaps in their current levels and hence in beats of electron excited species generation. In fact, oscillations often emerge even in homogeneous solutions where the processes of this kind take place. It is very probable that in an organized milieu practically all ROS reactions realize as the collective oscillatory processes.

We suggest that the mechanisms of biological action of ROS are determined by the structural patterns of the processes with ROS participation rather than by their average concentrations in cells and tissues. By the «structural pattern of a process» we mean the frequency-amplitude patterns and the extent of phase coherence of electron excited states generation and their relaxation in the course of ROS reactions with each other or singlet molecules. If energy released in these reaction acts is used as an activation energy for the specific biochemical processes, than the structural patterns of ROS reactions determine biochemical and physiological rhythmic patterns.

It should be stressed out that the periodic as well as non-linear rhythms emerging in the processes of ROS metabolism eventually fade, because ROS generation gradually declines without the external support. An organism should regularly receive external stimulation either in the form of «air ions» or «hydroions» (superoxide ions), or due to ROS generation in its internal aqueous medium induced with UV-photons, arising, for example, from Cherenkov radiation following disintegration of natural radioactive isotopes, ¹⁴C and ⁴⁰K. On the other hand, the rhythms of ROS reactions should depend to a certain extent upon the external oscillatory fields, in particular, EM- and magnetic fields even if the amplitude of their oscillations is very low, because single electron transfer processes taking place in the active medium in an organism should be rather sensitive to weak resonance influences.

The production of ROS in connective tissues to which blood and solid connective tissues penetrating the whole organism belong is of the special interest from the point of view of the energy-informational function of these processes. All nucleated blood cells as well as platelets, all the cells forming the vascular system, all the cells forming «solid» connective tissues possess enzymes that constitutively, as well as inducibly produce ROS. ROS are generated also by the intercellular matrix proteins though at a low rate. It should be stressed out that many plasma proteins and especially intercellular matrix proteins have fibrous helix structure and theoretically can ensure the transmission of oscillatory signals for long distances. We speculate that intercellular elements of connective tissue exhibit not only the function of a mechanical support for organs and tissues but also serve as the adjustable information channels within and between organs and tissues and also connecting them to the periphery where they are supposedly located as the acupuncture points. The cellular elements of connective tissues may serve as amplifiers, decoders, and re-translators of the signals incoming via the fibril network. It is interesting to note that all the organisms possess connective tissues or their analogues even if they lack blood-vessel and nervous systems.

Thus, continuous streaming of ROS reactions all over an organism provides persistent residence of a particular part of the macromolecular and supra-molecular structures in excited states, that expand in the range from optic to phonon modes. If so, the internal milieu of the organism may be regarded as an active medium, and the dynamic variety of structural patterns of ROS processes provide for the informational saturation of this medium. Spontaneous as well as stimulated relaxation of the excited molecular ensembles are followed with biophoton emission into the environment of a given organism.
 

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