Abstract
Abstract— 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 O2‐ using NADPH as the electron donor. The dismutation of O2‐ either spontaneously or under catalysis by superoxide dismutase, then gives rise to H2O2, a compound which is used in combination with Cl‐ and myeloperoxidase to provide an exceedingly powerful antimicrobial system. O2‐ 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.
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