The NADPH oxidase of phagocytic cells is important for the efficient killing and digestion of ingested microbes. A very unusual low-potential cytochrome b (b-245) is the only redox molecule to have been identified in this system. The FAD-containing flavoprotein that binds NADPH and transfers electrons to the cytochrome has eluded identification for three decades. We show here that the haem/FAD ratio in the membranes does not change significantly on activation of this oxidase, indicating that the FAD is present in the membranes from the outset and not recruited from the cytosol. The FAD content of membranes from cells of patients with X-linked chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) lacking the cytochrome b was roughly one-quarter of that in normal subjects and in autosomal recessive CGD patients lacking the cytosolic protein p47-phox. Similar low amounts of FAD were present in uninduced promyelocytic (HL60) cells, suggesting that the low amount of FAD in cells from X-CGD patients was probably unrelated to this oxidase system. Cytochrome b-245 appears to bind both the haem and FAD, in a molar ratio of 2:1. The e.p.r. signal of the purified cytochrome was weak and had an asymmetric g(z) peak at g = 3.31. The purified cytochrome could be partially reflavinated (about 20%) in the presence of lipid. Amino acid sequence homology was detected between the beta-subunit of this cytochrome b and the ferredoxin-NADP+ reductase (FNR) family of reductases in the putative NADPH- and FAD-binding sites. 32P-labelled 2-azido-NADP was used as a photoaffinity label for the NADPH-binding site. Labelling that was competed off with NADP was observed in the region of the beta-subunit of the cytochrome. No labelling was seen in this region in X-CGD in three subjects in whom this cytochrome was missing and in a third in whom it was present but bore a Pro-His transposition in the putative NADPH-binding site. These studies indicate that cytochrome b-245 is a flavocytochrome, the first described in higher eukaryotic cells, bearing the complete electron-transporting apparatus of the NADPH oxidase.

The NADPH oxidase generates superoxide in phagocytic cells. It is important for immunity and its deficiency leads to chronic granulomatous disease (CGD). It consists of a membrane-bound flavocytochrome b that lies dormant until activated by the translocation to the plasma membrane of cytosolic proteins, p47phox (phox for phagocyte oxidase), p67phox and p21rac, a small GTP-binding protein. We show here that a novel component, p40phox, forms an activation complex with p47phox and p67phox with which it translocates to the membrane to associate with the flavocytochrome b. cDNA cloning and amino acid analysis revealed that p40phox has an src homology 3 (SH3) domain and a large region of sequence similarity with the N-terminus of p47phox. The primary association of p40phox appears to be with p67phox, and it is present in reduced amounts in patients with CGD lacking p67phox.

The insect immune response has a number of structural and functional similarities to the innate immune response of mammals. The objective of the work presented here was to establish the mechanism by which insect hemocytes produce superoxide and to ascertain whether the proteins involved in superoxide production are similar to those involved in the NADPH oxidase-induced superoxide production in human neutrophils. Hemocytes of the greater wax moth (Galleria mellonella) were shown to be capable of phagocytosing bacterial and fungal cells. The kinetics of phagocytosis and microbial killing were similar in the insect hemocytes and human neutrophils. Superoxide production and microbial killing by both cell types were inhibited in the presence of the NADPH oxidase inhibitor diphenyleneiodonium chloride. Immunoblotting of G. mellonella hemocytes with antibodies raised against human neutrophil phox proteins revealed the presence of proteins homologous to gp91 phox , p67 phox , p47 phox , and the GTP-binding protein rac 2. A protein equivalent to p40

Abstract-A phagocyte-type NADPH oxidase complex is a major source of endothelial reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, but its biochemical function and regulation remain unclear. In neutrophils, the p47 phox subunit is centrally involved in oxidase activation in response to agonists such as phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA). We investigated the role of p47 phox in endothelial cell ROS production in response to PMA or tumor necrosis factor-␣ (TNF␣) stimulation. To specifically address the role of p47 phox , we studied coronary microvascular endothelial cells (CMECs) isolated from p47 phoxϪ/Ϫ mice and wild-type controls. p47 phox was absent in hearts of knockout mice whereas the essential oxidase subunit, p22 phox , was expressed in both groups. In the absence of agonist stimulation, the lack of p47 phox did not result in a reduction in NADPH-dependent ROS production in p47 phoxϪ/Ϫ CMECs compared with wild-type CMECs. Prestimulation with PMA (100 ng/mL) or TNF␣ (100 U/mL) for 10 minutes significantly increased NADPH-dependent O 2 Ϫ production in wild-type CMECs, assessed either by lucigenin (5 mol/L) chemiluminescence or dichlorohydrofluorescein (DCF) fluorescence. This response was completely lost in p47 phoxϪ/Ϫ cells.