SummaryIn recent years, it has become clear that reactive oxygen species (ROS, which include superoxide, hydrogen peroxide and other metabolites) are produced in biological systems. Rather than being simply a byproduct of aerobic metabolism, it is now recognized that specific enzymes ---the Nox (NADPH-oxidase) and Duox (Dual oxidase) enzymes ----seem to have the sole function of generating ROS in a carefully regulated manner, and key roles in signal transduction, immune function, hormone biosynthesis and other normal biological functions are being uncovered. The prototypical Nox is the respiratory burst oxidase or phagocyte oxidase, which generates large amounts of superoxide and other reactive species in the phagosomes of neutrophils and macrophages, playing a central role in innate immunity by killing microbes. This enzyme system has been extensively studied over the past two decades, and provides a basis for comparison with the more recently described Nox and Duox enzymes, which generate ROS in a variety of cells and tissues. This review first considers the structure and regulation of the respiratory burst oxidase, and then reviews recent studies relating to the regulation of the activity of the novel Nox/Duox enzymes. The regulation of Nox and Duox expression in tissues and by specific stimuli is also considered here. An accompanying review considers biological and pathological roles of the Nox family of enzymes. The Respiratory Burst Oxidase of Phagocytes a. The respiratory burstThe "respiratory burst" refers to the early observation that when professional phagocytes such as neutrophils and macrophages are exposed to microbes, they consume large amounts of oxygen. Unexpectedly, this oxygen consumption was not inhibited by cyanide, an inhibitor of mitochondrial electron transport. This observation led to a more than 25 year search for the enzymatic origin of the respiratory burst and to the eventual discovery and molecular characterization of the phagocytic NADPH-oxidase or "respiratory burst oxidase". The phagocyte oxidase generates superoxide via the one electron-reduction of oxygen by NADPH, with secondary production of hydrogen peroxide, HOCl and other activated forms of oxygen. Together, these reactive oxygen species (ROS) participate in host defense by killing invading microbes. b. gp91 phox , the catalytic moiety of the respiratory burst oxidaseThe phagocytic NADPH-oxidase consists of a membrane-localized glycosylated, catalytic subunit, gp91 phox (which has also come to be known as Nox2, a terminology that will be used in this review), along with a second membrane-associated subunit, p22 phox , both depicted in Fig. 1. Nox2 and p22 phox stabilize one another in a tightly associated heterodimer which is referred to as flavocytochrome b 558 . The C-terminal half of Nox2 forms a domain that is Contact information: 148 Whitehead Biomedical Research Building, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, 615 Michael Street, Atlanta, GA 30322, U.S. A. Phone: 404-727-5875, Fax: 404-712-2979, e-mail: nox...

The identification of NADPH oxidase (NOX) isoforms in tissues is essential for interpreting experiments and for next step decisions regarding cell lines, animal models, and targeted drug design. Two basic methods, immunoblotting and reverse transcriptase-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), are important to monitor NOX protein and messenger RNA (mRNA) levels, respectively, for a range of investigations from understanding cell signaling events to judging NOX inhibitor efficacies. For many other genes that are expressed in high abundance, these methods may seem rather simple. However, detecting the low expression levels of endogenous NOX/DUOX is difficult and can be frustrating, so some guidelines would be helpful to those who are facing difficulties. One reason why detection is so difficult is the limited availability of vetted NOX/DUOX antibodies. Many of the commercial antibodies do not perform well in our hands, and dependable antibodies, often generated by academic laboratories, are in limited supply. Another problem is the growing trend in the NOX literature to omit end-user validation of antibodies by not providing appropriate positive and negative controls. With regard to NOX mRNA levels, knockdown of NOX/DUOX has been reported in cell lines with very low endogenous expression (C q values !30) or in cell lines devoid of the targeted NOX isoform (e.g., NOX4 expression in NCI-60 cancer cell panel cell line 786-0). These publications propagate misinformation and hinder progress in understanding NOX/DUOX function. This chapter provides overdue guidelines on how to validate a NOX antibody and provides general methodologies to prepare samples for optimal detection. It also includes validated methodology to perform RT-qPCR for the measurement of NOX mRNA levels, and we suggest that RT-qPCR should be performed prior to embarking on NOX protein detection.

Highly pathogenic influenza viruses can elicit a severe cytokine storm, leading to acute lung injury (ALI), or in its more severe form, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by NADPH Oxidase (Nox) enzymes of both the lung infiltrating cells and the lung epithelial tissue can contribute to lung injury directly or via inflammatory signaling pathways. Here, we present evidence that Nox1 expression is enhanced in vitro (A549 lung epithelial cells, 33-fold; THP-1 monocytic cells, 633-fold; HULEC lung endothelial cells, 27-fold) and in vivo (mouse lung tissue, 17-fold) in response to infection with influenza A virus. Notably, in A549 cells, Nox1 expression levels were enhanced by laboratory strains A/X31 (H3N2) and A/WSN/33 (H1N1), as well as A(H1N1)pdm09 clinical isolates (A/California/08/2009, A/Mexico/4108/2009, and A/Texas/15/2009) of influenza A virus. Nox1 induction was virus dose- and replication-dependent. However, Nox1-deficient mice had a higher survival rate (p=0.008) compared to wild-type controls in response to a lethal dose of A/PR8/1934 influenza. Improved survival of Nox1-deficient mice corresponded with increased (p=0.0006) flu-specific neutralizing antibody responses. These results suggest that therapeutic blockade of Nox1 deserves further attention as a possible adjunct therapy for influenza A-associated ALI/ARDS.