Activation of macrophages for antimycobacterial activity.

The role of macrophage hydrogen peroxide in defense against mycobacterial infection is discussed - not because this is necessarily any more important than other macrophage products (reviews: [1, 2]) but more as a reflection of recently available information. First, we will describe an accumulation of evidence that peroxide has a role, then we will stage an enquiry into whether interferon-gamma (IFN gamma) activates macrophages for peroxide release, and finally we will give an appraisal of direct peroxide toxicity as the mechanism of killing Mycobacterium tuberculosis by activated macrophages.