Neutrophil and Macrophage Response to Hypoxia in the Context of Inflammatory and Infectious Diseases

Abstract

Neutrophils and macrophages are the first line of defense against pathogens. They have the ability to eradicate pathogens in an environment with inflammation and hypoxia. How these cells adapt to that environment is something that has been studied for several years now. HIF-1α is the main orchestrator to maintain this cells functional in hypoxia, and more recently is have established that HIF-1α can be stabilized by bacterial antigens in the absence of hypoxia via NF-κB, making HIF-1α a key protein in the innate immune response. Using HIF-1 as a therapeutic target requires knowing the pathogen that is causing the infection and whether this infection is local or systemic. In this review we gathered information about this issue to understand how these cells remain functional in this type of environment where you have a pathogen, inflammation and hypoxia.