When phagocytes are exposed to a number of different stimuli, they undergo dra matic changes in the way they process oxygen. Oxygen uptake increases markedly, frequently more than 50-fold; the phagocytes begin to produce large quantities of superoxide and hydrogen peroxide; and they immediately begin to metabolize large amounts of glucose by way of the hexose monophosphate shunt. This series of changes has become known as the respiratory burst. It was first believed that the major function of this respiratory burst was to generate powerful antibacterial agents by the partial reduction of...