Interactions between electron and proton currents in excised patches from human eosinophils.

ABSTRACT: The NADPH-oxidase is a plasma membrane enzyme complex that enables phagocytes to generate superoxide in order to kill invading pathogens, a critical step in the host defense against infections. The oxidase transfers electrons from cytosolic NADPH to extracellular oxygen, a process that requires concomitant H+ extrusion through depolarization-activated H+ channels. Whether H+ fluxes are mediated by the oxidase itself is controversial, but there is a general agreement that the oxidase and H+ channel are intimately connected. Oxidase activation evokes profound changes in whole-cell H+ current (IH), causing an approximately -40-mV shift in the activation threshold that leads to the appearance of inward IH. To further explore the relationship between the oxidase and proton channel, we performed

SUBMITTER: Petheo GL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2229590 | biostudies-literature | 2003 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature