Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0406810 (NAME)
 13,345 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Brain nitric oxide synthase (NOS), which utilizes NADPH and calcium/calmodulin as cofactors for metabolizing L-arginine to nitric oxide (NO) and L-citrulline, contains recognition sites for the flavins FAD and FMN. Using a spin-trapping technique combined with electron spin resonance spectroscopy, we report that brain NOS generates superoxide O2-. in a calcium/calmodulin-dependent manner. The "specific inhibitors" of NOS, NG-monomethyl L-arginine (L-NMMA), and NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), have different effects on O2-. generation. For L-NMMA, O2-. production is unaffected, while for L-NAME, inhibition of this free radical is concentration-dependent.
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PMID:Generation of superoxide by purified brain nitric oxide synthase. 128 Feb 57

Long-term potentiation is a long-lasting, use-dependent increase in the strength of synaptic connections. We investigated the role of nitric oxide (NO) in determining the duration of potentiation induced by high frequency stimulation of afferents in the CA1 region of the rat hippocampus. The calcium/calmodulin-dependent production of NO can be initiated by activation of excitatory amino acid receptors and results in increased levels of cGMP in target cells. Here we report that only a relatively short-term potentiation can be induced in the presence of nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), an NO synthase inhibitor. The effects of L-NAME on the duration of potentiation are partially reversed by coadministration of L-arginine, a precursor of neuronal NO, and by dibutyryl cGMP. Hemoglobin, which binds extracellular NO, also shortens the duration of stimulus-induced potentiation. The results suggest a role for NO in the maintenance of activity-dependent synaptic enhancements, possibly via the generation of cGMP.
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PMID:The role of nitric oxide in hippocampal long-term potentiation. 137 Dec 16

The 23 kDa protein was localized by immunocytochemistry to photoreceptor cells of the mouse retina, and bovine and mouse cDNA clones were isolated and sequenced. The deduced amino acid sequences showed that the mouse 23 kDa protein is 91% identical to the bovine protein, and is the same as S-modulin, the CAR (cancer-associated retinopathy) protein and recoverin, the Ca(2+)-dependent activator of photoreceptor guanylate cyclase. The amino acid sequence reveals two Ca2+ binding sites, no internal repeats, 59% homology to the chicken visinin protein and 40% homology to calmodulin while Northern analysis demonstrated a single 1.0 kb mRNA species in bovine and mouse retina.
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PMID:Cloning and sequencing of the 23 kDa mouse photoreceptor cell-specific protein. 138 25

Maintenance of blood flow is an important factor in sustaining tumour growth. Functional studies have previously demonstrated a reduction in tumour blood flow with selective inhibitors of nitric oxide (NO) synthesis, L-NAME (NG-nitro-L-arginine-methylester) and L-NMMA (NG-monomethyl-L-arginine), when administered locally to tumours derived from murine colon 26 adenocarcinoma and B16 melanoma cells. The type of NO synthase which might be responsible for this locally-derived NO and the site of synthesis was not described. Here we have investigated the distribution of immunoreactivity and the biochemical characteristics of the enzymes synthesizing NO in the same murine model. Adenocarcinoma (colon 26) or melanoma (B16) cells were introduced into a sponge matrix implanted subcutaneously in mice. After 7, 12, and 14 days, the implants were removed and frozen sections were immunostained with rabbit antisera to constitutive and inducible isoforms of NO synthase. Immunoreactivity with antisera to inducible NO synthase was detected in the vasculature of neoplastic implants, with and without the sponge, at 12 and 14 days. The enzyme was not evident in 7-day-old tumours, in non-neoplastic implants, in areas of tissue outside the tumour, or in adenocarcinoma or melanoma cells. Enzyme activity was measurable in homogenates of neoplastic implants removed at day 7 and was found to be Ca2+/calmodulin-independent. Immunoreactivity with antisera to inducible NO synthase was seen principally in the endothelium of newly-formed capillaries, identified by immunostaining for von Willebrand factor in serial sections. Immunoreactivity with antiserum to constitutive NO synthase was not evident in either neoplastic or non-neoplastic implants.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Induction of nitric oxide synthase in the neo-vasculature of experimental tumours in mice. 752 46

Available studies indicate that the adrenergic stimulation of pineal cyclic GMP production involves stimulation of guanylyl cyclase activity by nitric oxide (NO) derived from arginine. This line of investigation was extended in the present study. Using a highly sensitive microassay, it was found that pineal NO synthase activity is present at levels approximately 30% of those in the cerebellum, that approximately 95% of enzyme activity is cytoplasmic, that the enzyme is Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent and that enzyme activity is inhibited by the arginine analog NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME). Norepinephrine treatment of intact glands in culture increased [3H]citrulline formation from [3H]arginine. This treatment also increased the formation of an NO-like compound, indicating that NO synthase activity in the intact gland is elevated by adrenergic stimulation. Studies on the effects of inhibition of NO synthase activity indicated that treatments known to inhibit NO synthase activity and the adrenergic stimulation of cyclic GMP accumulation did not inhibit adrenergic stimulation of pineal cyclic AMP, N-acetyltransferase activity or melatonin production. These observations support the hypothesis that NE stimulation of pineal cyclic GMP accumulation involves stimulation of a Ca2+/calmodulin-sensitive form of NO synthase, resulting in enhanced accumulation of NO; and, that although NO appears to play a role in the adrenergic stimulation of pineal cyclic GMP accumulation, it does not appear to play a critical role in the adrenergic stimulation of cyclic AMP, N-acetyltransferase activity or melatonin production.
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PMID:Pineal nitric oxide synthase: characteristics, adrenergic regulation and function. 752 30

Nitric oxide (NO) may play a part in pulmonary vascular regulation and bronchomotor control and has been detected in exhaled air. We report the release of NO from airway epithelial cells and its regulation by cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). To directly measure NO release, a highly specific amperometric sensor for NO made of Pt/Ir alloy coated with a three-layered membrane consisting of KCI, NO-selective resin, and normal silicon resin was developed. Immersion of this sensor in the medium containing canine cultured tracheal epithelium detected baseline levels of NO at 9.6 +/- 1.6 nM (mean +/- SE), which was reduced by NG-nitro-L-arginine methylester (L-NAME) but not by D-NAME. This inhibition was reversed by L-arginine. Addition of isoproterenol, 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine, and forskolin caused a rapid increase in NO, an effect that was not altered by Ca(2+)-free medium in the presence of the intracellular Ca2+ chelator BAPTA-AM and the calmodulin antagonist W-7. Bradykinin, ionomycin, and ATP were without effect on NO release. The forskolin-induced NO release was accompanied by intracellular accumulation of cAMP and Ca2+. In contrast, bradykinin increased intracellular Ca2+ but not cAMP levels. Cytochemistry of cultured tracheal epithelium showed a positive staining with NADPH diaphorase activity. These results suggest that airway epithelial cells spontaneously release NO and that the release may be stimulated specifically through cAMP-dependent mechanism.
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PMID:Cyclic adenosine monophosphate-mediated release of nitric oxide from canine cultured tracheal epithelium. 755 90

Release of inflammatory mediators by mast cells can be modulated by certain cytokines and by nitric oxide. An in vitro platelet aggregation bioassay was used to assess the effects of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) on the release of platelet-activating factor and nitric oxide from resting or ionophore-activated peritoneal mast cells (PMC) from rat. PMC spontaneously released a substance that inhibits thrombin-stimulated platelet aggregation. The activity of this substance is abolished by addition of hemoglobin to the platelet suspension and augmented by preincubation of the PMC with L-arginine, suggesting that it is nitric oxide. Within minutes, IL-1 beta concentration-dependently (1 pg/ml-100 ng/ml) enhanced the release from activated PMC of nitric oxide, as measured by its ability to inhibit thrombin-induced platelet aggregation, and as confirmed with a biochemical assay for nitrite. This action of IL-1 beta was inhibited by pretreatment of PMC with a calmodulin antagonist (calmidazolium), an IL-1 receptor antagonist, or either of two nitric oxide synthase inhibitors (L-NAME and LY-83583). IL-1 beta also inhibited the release of platelet-activating factor from PMC through a nitric-oxide-dependent mechanism. These results demonstrate that IL-1 beta is a potent and rapid-acting modulator of mast cell reactivity, stimulating nitric oxide release while inhibiting the production of platelet-activating factor.
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PMID:Modulation of rat mast cell reactivity by IL-1 beta. Divergent effects on nitric oxide and platelet-activating factor release. 839 60

In the domestic fowl, angiotensin II (ANG II) decreases blood pressure in vivo and causes endothelium-dependent relaxation of aortic smooth muscles in vitro. To characterize ANG II-induced vasorelaxation, we compared endothelium-dependent vasodilatory effects of [Asp1,Val5]-ANG II (fowl ANG II) and acetylcholine (ACh) with the endothelium-independent vasorelaxing effect of sodium nitroprusside (SNP) on isometric tension of fowl aortic rings. Hemoglobin (Hb), gossypol, and N omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), inhibitors for endothelium-derived relaxing factor (EDRF) in mammalian blood vessels, partially inhibited vasorelaxation induced by ANG II and ACh in fowl. Hb also markedly attenuated SNP-induced vasorelaxation, but not 8-bromoguanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate-induced relaxation. 3,4,5-Trimethoxybenzoic acid 8-(diethylamino)octyl ester hydrochloride (TMB-8) or the removal of Ca2+ from the bathing medium attenuated the ACh-induced relaxation but did not significantly reduce vasorelaxation induced by ANG II or SNP. In the zero Ca2+ medium, aortic rings showed tachyphylaxis to ACh, while ANG II caused tachyphylaxis regardless of the presence or absence of external Ca2+. Furthermore, pretreatment of the ring with a high dose of ACh abolished the vasorelaxation response to ANG II, suggesting that ACh and ANG II may share a common Ca2+ pool. Calmidazolium, a calmodulin antagonist, abolished the vasorelaxation induced by ANG II and ACh but not that by SNP. Comparison of the vasodilatory effects of several ANG II analogues on fowl aortic rings showed an approximate potency order of [Asp1,Val5]-ANG II = [Asp1,Ile5]-ANG II > [Asn1,Ile5]-ANG II = [Sar1,Ile5]-ANG II > [Val5]-ANG III.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Angiotensin II-induced endothelium-dependent relaxation of fowl aorta. 849 99

The roles of calcium and/or of the other cellular transduction pathways, and of nitric oxide (NO) on the induction of metallothionein (MT) mRNA by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) has been studied in rat primary cell culture, using inhibitors of protein kinase pathways (H-7, W-7 and TMB-8) and NO production inhibitors (L-NAME, PTIO). LPS exposure led to a rapid increase of MT-mRNA and a peak level revealed 2.5-fold induction as compared to control for 6h incubation at a dose of 3.0 mg/L. A dose of 5.0 and 10.0 mg/L of LPS also provided the same level of MT-mRNA induction. The inhibition of MT induction by LPS was observed with L-NAME, PTIO, but not H-7, W-7. These findings indicate that the alteration of cellular calcium concentration and distribution does not relate to the induction of MT-mRNA by LPS in hepatocytes and that protein kinase C and calmodulin dependent protein kinase pathways have not contributed to MT-mRNA induction by LPS. Finally, the present results show that NO plays an important role in MT induction by LPS.
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PMID:Nitric oxide mediated metallothionein induction by lipopolysaccharide. 858 48

Putative nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity was assayed in molluscan CNS through histochemical localization of NADPH-diaphorase and through measurement of L-arginine/L-citrulline conversion. Several hundreds of NADPH-dependent diaphorase-positive neurons stained consistently darkly in the nervous system of the predatory opisthobranch Pleurobranchaea californica, whereas stained neurons were relatively sparse and/or light in the other opisthobranchs (Philine, Aplysia, Tritonia, Flabellina, Cadina, Armina, Coriphella, and Doriopsilla sp.) and cephalopods (Sepia and Rossia sp.). L-Arginine/L-citrulline conversion was beta-NADPH dependent, insensitive to removal of Ca2+, inhibited by the calmodulin blocker trifluoperazine, and inhibited by the competitive NOS inhibitor N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) but not D-NAME. Inhibitors of arginase [L-valine and (+)-S-2-amino-5-iodoacetamidopentanoic acid)] did not affect L-citrulline production in the CNS. NOS activity was largely associated with the particulate fraction and appeared to be a novel, constitutive Ca(2+)-independent isoform. Enzymatic conversion of L-arginine/L-citrulline in Pleurobranchaea and Aplysia CNS was 4.0 and 9.8%, respectively, of that of rat cerebellum, L-Citrulline formation in gill and muscle of Pleurobranchaea was not significant. The localization of relatively high NOS activity in neuron somata in the CNS of Pleurobranchaea is markedly different from the other opisthobranchs, all of which are grazers. Potentially, this is related to the animal's opportunistic predatory lifestyle.
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PMID:Nitric oxide synthase activity in the molluscan CNS. 859 65


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