Thiol Redox Regulation : A Brief Historical Overview

Cysteine, the predominant biological thiol, was identified in 1884. Its presence in living organisms and the biochemistry of reduction and oxidation as well the importance of the redox state for protein function was elucidated in the first half of the 20th century. In the second half, proteins regulating the thiol redox state were identified, especially proteins facilitating or maintaining thiols reduced. Numerous posttranslational thiol modifications are described. This chapter provides a brief overview of the research on thiol redox regulation and is intended to remind researchers that knowledge of the history of a research field is helpful in pointing out that observations considered novel may already have been described years ago.