Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0851184 (thinning)
 11,252 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Nitric oxide (NO) is a pleiotropic signaling molecule that is produced by bone cells constitutively and in response to diverse stimuli such as proinflammatory cytokines, mechanical strain, and sex hormones. Endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) is the predominant NOS isoform expressed in bone, but its physiological role in regulating bone metabolism remains unclear. Here we studied various aspects of bone metabolism in female mice with targeted disruption of the eNOS gene. Mice with eNOS deficiency (eNOS KO) had reduced bone mineral density, and cortical thinning when compared with WT controls and histomorphometric analysis of bone revealed profound abnormalities of bone formation, with reduced osteoblast numbers, surfaces and mineral apposition rate. Studies in vitro showed that osteoblasts derived from eNOS KO mice had reduced rates of growth when compared with WT and were less well differentiated as reflected by lower levels of alkaline phosphatase activity. Mice with eNOS deficiency lost bone normally following ovariectomy but exhibited a significantly blunted anabolic response to high dose exogenous estrogen. We conclude that the eNOS pathway plays an essential role in regulating bone mass and bone turnover by modulating osteoblast function.
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PMID:Defective bone formation and anabolic response to exogenous estrogen in mice with targeted disruption of endothelial nitric oxide synthase. 1115 48

A 78-year-old Korean woman was referred to Chonbuk National University Dental Hospital complaining of facial palsy and palpable mass in the right parotid gland area for 4 years. Clinical examination showed an asymmetrical facial appearance due to a 4 cmx5 cm hard, fixed, non-tender mass in the right parotid gland area, incomplete eye closure and a slight tremor at the corner of the mouth. A panoramic radiograph showed an amorphous calcified mass on the posterior mandibular ramus with thinning of the cortical plate adjacent to the mass. A sialogram showed constriction of the main duct and no further filling of striated, intercalated ducts and parenchymal areas. CT indicated an expansile mass with slight contrast enhancement involving the right parotid gland. The large mass showed necrotic areas and calcifications. A bone scan showed marked accumulation of (99)Tc(m)-methylene diphosphonate on the right posterior maxilla. Microscopic findings revealed minimal morphological alterations and rare mitotic figures within tumour cells, and the lesion was diagnosed as adenocarcinoma not otherwise specified (NOS, grade II).
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PMID:Adenocarcinoma of the parotid gland with calcification. 1277 69

In birds, the choroid plays a role in the visual regulation of eye growth, thickening in response to myopic defocus, and thinning in response to hyperopic defocus, in both cases moving the retina towards the image plane. This response is rapid, occurring within hours of the defocus stimulus. These changes are consistently associated with slower changes in the sclera, that result in the appropriate changes in axial elongation, decreasing growth in response to myopic defocus and increasing it in response to hyperopic defocus. The molecular mechanisms underlying the scleral response involve changes in the synthesis of extracellular matrix molecules, however, those underlying the changes in choroidal thickness are not known. However, evidence suggests that it may involve the gaseous signal molecule nitric oxide, as nitric oxide is a potent smooth muscle relaxant, and injections of the non-specific nitric oxide synthase inhibitor L-NAME transiently inhibits the thickening response. Interestingly, it also dis-inhibits ocular growth, in accordance with a mechanistic link between the two responses. If nitric oxide is part of the signal cascade underlying the visual regulation of eye growth, it would be important to ascertain the source of the molecule. As a first step towards doing so, we used various more specific NOS inhibitors and studied their effects on the choroidal and growth responses. Birds (7-12 days old) were fitted with +10 D lenses on one eye. On that day, single intravitreal injections (30 microl) of the following inhibitors were used: nNOS inhibitor N(omega)-propyl-L-arginine (n=12), iNOS inhibitor L-NIL (n=16), eNOS/iNOS inhibitor L-NIO (n=15), non-specific inhibitor L-NMMA (n=30) or physiological saline (n=18). Ocular dimensions were measured using high-frequency A-scan ultrasonography at the start of the experiment, and at 7, 24 and 48 h after. We found that the nNOS inhibitor N(omega)-propyl-L-arginine had the same inhibitory effects on the choroidal response, and dis-inhibition of the growth response, as did L-NAME; neither of the other inhibitors had any effect except L-NMMA. We conclude that the choroidal compensatory response is influenced by nNOS, possibly from the intrinsic choroidal neurons, or the parasympathetic innervation from the ciliary and/or pterygopalatine ganglia.
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PMID:Inhibiting the neuronal isoform of nitric oxide synthase has similar effects on the compensatory choroidal and axial responses to myopic defocus in chicks as does the non-specific inhibitor L-NAME. 1945 Apr 49