We report here the presence of an NADPH oxidase (NOX) activity both in intact and in isolated transverse tubules and in triads isolated from mammalian skeletal muscle, as established by immunochemical, enzymatic, and pharmacological criteria. Immunohistochemical determinations with NOX antibodies showed that the gp91 phox membrane subunit and the cytoplasmic regulatory p47 phox subunit co-localized in transverse tubules of adult mice fibers with the ␣ 1s subunit of dihydropyridine receptors. Western blot analysis revealed that isolated triads contained the integral membrane subunits gp91 phox and p22 phox , which were markedly enriched in isolated transverse tubules but absent from junctional sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles. Isolated triads and transverse tubules, but not junctional sarcoplasmic reticulum, also contained varying amounts of the cytoplasmic NOX regulatory subunits p47 phox and p67 phox . NADPH or NADH elicited superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide generation by isolated triads; both activities were inhibited by NOX inhibitors but not by rotenone. NADH diminished the total thiol content of triads by one-third; catalase or apocynin, a NOX inhibitor, prevented this effect. NADPH enhanced the activity of ryanodine receptor type 1 (RyR1) in triads, measured through [ 3 H]ryanodine binding and calcium release kinetics, and increased significantly RyR1 S-glutathionylation over basal levels. Preincubation with reducing agents or NOX inhibitors abolished the enhancement of RyR1 activity produced by NADPH and prevented NADPH-induced RyR1 S-glutathionylation. We propose that reactive oxygen species generated by the transverse tubule NOX activate via redox modification the neighboring RyR1 Ca 2؉ release channels. Possible implications of this putative mechanism for skeletal muscle function are discussed.The NADPH oxidases (NOX) 3 are flavoprotein enzymes that use NADPH as electron donor to mediate the univalent reduction of molecular oxygen to superoxide anion (1), a free radical that by spontaneous or enzymatically catalyzed dismutation is readily converted into H 2 O 2 . The phagocytic NOX isoform (NOX2) was first discovered as a pivotal component of the neutrophil respiratory burst (2, 3). The functional NOX2 enzyme is composed of two integral plasma membrane subunits, gp91 phox and p22phox , which make up cytochrome b 558 , plus three cytosolic regulatory subunits: p40 phox , p47 phox , and p67 phox (2, 4). A variety of tissues, including endothelial cells (5), smooth muscle cells (6), neurons (7-9), and astrocytes (7, 10), possess nonphagocytic NOX homologues (11,12). Several reports indicate that NOX2 and its homologues have a central role in the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in response to diverse physiological extracellular stimuli (13-17). Moreover, membrane depolarization stimulates NOX activity in phagocytes (18) and endothelial cells (19,20). NOX stimulation is also apparent following agonist-induced stimulation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors in hippocampal neurons (21). Some N...