**6. Conclusion: Grx2's anti-apoptotic and cytoprotective roles may make it a potential drug target to treat oxidative stress-induced diseases**

Despite being overlooked, research throughout the years has portrayed Grx2 as a capable and robust antioxidant enzyme through direct detoxification of free radicals, cytoprotection, and anti-apoptotic abilities [5, 23]. Grx2's primary mitochondrial and nuclear localization highlights its important role in balancing pro- and anti-apoptotic signals, maintaining metabolic activity, and preventing cellular dysfunction. Furthermore, Grx2 remains inactive as a dimer until oxidative stress is present, indicating that Grx2 expression can be finely manipulated [17, 21]. Several degenerative and oxidative stress-induced diseases involve exacerbated cell death, and Grx2's potent anti-apoptotic effects make it a marketable drug target to combat oxidative stress and injury [2, 5, 26]. More research needs to be focused on novel drug discovery research to find inhibitors for the treatment and drug sensitization of cancer and activators for the treatment of oxidative stress and degenerative diseases.
