AUTHOR=Li Hao , Zhou Xuedong , Huang Yuyao , Liao Binyou , Cheng Lei , Ren Biao 

TITLE=Reactive Oxygen Species in Pathogen Clearance: The Killing Mechanisms, the Adaption Response, and the Side Effects

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.622534

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2020.622534

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are attractive weapons in both antibiotic-mediated killing and host-mediated killing. However, the involvement of ROS in antibiotic-mediated killing and complexities in host environments challenge the paradigm. In the case of bacterial pathogens, the examples of some certain pathogens thriving under ROS conditions prompt us to focus on the adaption mechanism that pathogens evolve to cope with ROS. Based on these, we here summarized the mechanisms of ROS-mediated killing of either antibiotics or the host, the examples of bacterial adaption that successful pathogens evolved to defend or thrive under ROS conditions, and the potential side effects of ROS in pathogen clearance. A brief section for new antibacterial strategies centered around ROS was also addressed.</p>