Abstract
Heme oxygenase (HO-1) mediates the enzymatic cleavage of heme, a molecule with proinflammatory and prooxidant properties. HO-1 activity deeply impacts host capacity to tolerate infection through reduction of tissue damage or affecting resistance, the ability of the host to control pathogen loads. In this Review, we will discuss the contribution of HO-1 in different and complex protozoan infections, such as malaria, leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, and toxoplasmosis. The complexity of these infections and the pleiotropic effects of HO-1 constitute an interesting area of study and an opportunity for drug development.
Highlights
The control of labile heme amounts is a main asset in the daily fight for survival, especially relevant in conditions of hemolysis, extensive tissue damage, and infection
Inhibition of heme oxygenases (HOs)-1 activity with SnPPIX increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production after amastigote phagocytosis, while induction of HO-1 with Cobalt protoporphyrin IX (CoPPIX) reduced the amounts of superoxide, an important ROS associated to Leishmania control inside macrophages [101]
HO-1 induction has been described as an important mechanism of host protection in a number of sterile and infectious disease models in mice [11, 128, 129]
Summary
Citation: Silva RCMC, Travassos LH, Paiva CN, Bozza MT (2020) Heme oxygenase-1 in protozoan infections: A tale of resistance and disease tolerance. PLoS Pathog 16(7): e1008599. https:// doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1008599 Funding: Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa (CNPq), Coordenacão de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nıvel Superior (Capes) and Fundacão de Amparo à Pesquisa do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
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