title: Regulation of the phagocyte NADPH oxidase by Rac GTPase.
abstract: Phagocytic leukocytes generate reactive oxygen species important for the killing of invading microorganisms. The source of these oxidants is the NADPH oxidase, a tightly controlled multicomponent enzyme made up of a membrane-associated catalytic moiety and cytosolic regulatory components that must assemble to form the active oxidase. The phagocyte NADPH oxidase was the first mammalian system shown to be directly regulated by a Rac GTPase. We review here our understanding of NADPH oxidase regulation by Rac, as well as the regulation of Rac itself, in phagocytic leukocytes. Rather than viewing Rac as a "cog" in the NADPH oxidase machinery, we argue for a view of Rac GTPases as critical "molecular switches" regulating the formation of ROS by phagocytic leukocytes under physiologic and pathologic conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 N. Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, California 92037, USA. Bokoch@scripps.edu
authors.forename: Gary M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Bokoch
authors.forename: Tieming
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D045303:Cytochromes b / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D019255:NADPH Oxidases / Q000378:metabolism*; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism; D010586:Phagocytes / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000378:metabolism; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D020764:cdc42 GTP-Binding Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D020744:rac GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D045303:Cytochromes b; D019255:NADPH Oxidases; D020764:cdc42 GTP-Binding Protein; D020744:rac GTP-Binding Proteins