AUTHOR=Harrison Alistair , Bakaletz Lauren O., Munson Robert S.

TITLE=Haemophilus influenzae and oxidative stress

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=2

YEAR=2012

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2012.00040

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2012.00040

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Haemophilus influenzae</italic> is a commensal of the human upper respiratory tract. <italic>H. influenzae</italic> can, however, move out of its commensal niche and cause multiple respiratory tract diseases. Such diseases include otitis media in young children, as well as exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), sinusitis, conjunctivitis, and bronchitis. During the course of colonization and infection, <italic>H. influenzae</italic> must withstand oxidative stress generated by multiple reactive oxygen species produced endogenously, by other co-pathogens and by host cells. <italic>H. influenzae</italic> has, therefore, evolved multiple mechanisms that protect the cell against oxygen-generated stresses. In this review, we will describe these systems relative to the well-described systems in <italic>Escherichia coli</italic>. Moreover, we will compare how <italic>H. influenzae</italic> combats the effect of oxidative stress as a necessary phenotype for its roles as both a successful commensal and pathogen.</p>