Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Biology Open

Publication Date

2023

Abstract

One challenge for invading pathogens represents the exposure to highly microbicidal hypohalous acids (HOX), such as hypochlorous acid (HOCl) and hypothiocyanous acid (HOSCN). Generated at high concentrations by innate immune cells during phagocytosis, HOX kills the engulfed microbes through extensive macromolecular damage. However, microorganisms have evolved strategies to detoxify the oxidants and/or alleviate HOX-mediated damage, which improves their survival during HOX exposure. Many of these defense systems are bacteria-specific and therefore considered potential drug targets. Our minireview highlights recent (July 2021 to November 2022) advances in the field of microbial HOX defense systems and how these systems are regulated. We report recent progress on redox-sensing transcriptional regulators, two-component systems, and σ/anti-σ factors and review how oxidative modifications in these regulatory proteins affect the expression of their target genes. Moreover, we discuss novel studies that describe how HOCl affects the activity of redox-regulated enzymes and highlight mechanisms that bacteria employ to reduce HOSCN.

Funding Source

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) (grant no. R15AI164585) and the Illinois State University Pre-Tenure Faculty Initiative Grant (to J.-U.D.). This article was published Open Access thanks to a transformative agreement between Milner Library and Company of Biologists.

Comments

First published in Biology Open (2023): https://doi.org/10.1242/bio.059809

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.1242/bio.059809

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