Abstract
Mucosal epithelial cells act as the first immunologic barrier of organisms, and contact directly with pathogens. Therefore, hosts must have differential strategies to combat pathogens efficiently. Reactive oxygen species (ROS), as a kind of oxidizing agents, participates in the early stage of killing pathogens quickly. Recent reports have revealed that dual oxidase (DUOX) plays a key role in mucosal immunity. And the DUOX is a transmembrane protein which produces ROS as their primary enzymatic products. This process is an important pattern for eliminating pathogens. In this review, we highlight the DUOX immunologic functions in the respiratory and digestive tract of vertebrates.
Highlights
Mucosal epithelial cells act as the first immunologic barrier of organisms, and contact directly with pathogens
dual oxidase (DUOX) belong to the family of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidases and are the primary sources of H2O2 production in a wide range of organisms
We summarized the current knowledge with respect to the importance of DUOX enzymes in mucosal epithelia, especially in the respiratory tract and the digestive tract
Summary
DUOXs belong to the family of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidases and are the primary sources of H2O2 production in a wide range of organisms. NADPH oxidases (NOXs) represent a family of enzymes, which directly regulate cellular production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and play various functional roles in physiology (Laurindo et al, 2014). NOXs have a conserved catalytic core, which is responsible for transmembrane electron transfer. Most NOX isoforms have very low or no constitutive activity but their expression can be increased after pathogens’ invasion. Under these conditions, the activated NOXs can generate high ROS levels leading to increased oxidative stress (Sarr et al, 2018). NOX2 produces superoxide from molecular oxygen (Babior et al, 1973; Leto and Geiszt, 2006).
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