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O 2 ‐ AND HOST DEFENSE: THE PRODUCTION AND FATE OF O 2 ‐ IN NEUTROPHILS * , §
Author(s) -
Tauber Alfred I.,
Babior Bernard M.
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
photochemistry and photobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.818
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1751-1097
pISSN - 0031-8655
DOI - 10.1111/j.1751-1097.1978.tb07003.x
Subject(s) - oxidizing agent , myeloperoxidase , oxygen , chemistry , superoxide dismutase , singlet oxygen , superoxide , antimicrobial , reducing agent , catalysis , reactive oxygen species , biochemistry , enzyme , biology , organic chemistry , immunology , inflammation
— The neutrophil is a circulating cell whose function is to find, ingest and destroy invading microorganisms. Among the weapons used by this cell against its target is a series of powerful oxidizing agents produced by the partial reduction of oxygen. Generation of these oxidizing agents is initiated when the neutrophil encounters its target. This encounter activates a flavoenzyme, dormant in resting cells, which catalyzes the reduction of oxygen to O 2 ‐ using NADPH as the electron donor. The dismutation of O 2 ‐ either spontaneously or under catalysis by superoxide dismutase, then gives rise to H 2 O 2 , a compound which is used in combination with Cl ‐ and myeloperoxidase to provide an exceedingly powerful antimicrobial system. O 2 ‐ also serves as a precursor of OH, another powerful oxidant which may be employed by the neutrophil as an antimicrobial agent. Singlet oxygen may also be formed in neutrophils.