Are Reactive Oxygen Species Always Detrimental to Pathogens?

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are deadly weapons used by phagocytes and other cell types, such as lung epithelial cells, against pathogens. ROS can kill pathogens directly by causing oxidative damage to biocompounds or indirectly by stimulating pathogen elimination by various nonoxidative mechanisms, including pattern recognition receptors signaling, autophagy, neutrophil extracellular trap formation, and T-lymphocyte responses. Thus, one should expect that the inhibition of ROS production promote infection. Increasing evidences support that in certain particular infections, antioxidants decrease and prooxidants increase pathogen burden. In this study, we review the classic infections that are controlled by…

• CD
  Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
• CN
  Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
• FC
  Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro