Neuronal nitric oxide synthase alternatively spliced forms: Prominent functional localizations in the brain

Alternatively spliced neuronal nitric oxide synthase mediates penile erection.

A key role for nitric oxide (NO) in penile erection is well established, but the relative roles of the neuronal NO synthase (nNOS) versus endothelial forms of NOS are not clear. nNOS- and endothelial NOS-deficient mice maintain erectile function and reproductive capacity, questioning the importance of NO. Alternatively, residual NO produced by shorter transcripts in the nNOS(-/-) animals might ...

Tissue- and development-specific expression of multiple alternatively spliced transcripts of rat neuronal nitric oxide synthase.

Nitric oxide (NO) functions as an intercellular messenger and mediates numerous biological functions. Among the three isoforms of NO synthase that produce NO, the ubiquitously expressed neuronal NO synthase (nNOS) is responsible for a large part of NO production, yet its regulation is poorly understood. Recent reports of two alternative spliceforms of nNOS in the mouse and in man have raised th...

Translational regulation of human neuronal nitric-oxide synthase by an alternatively spliced 5'-untranslated region leader exon.

Expression of the neuronal nitric-oxide synthase (nNOS) mRNA is subject to complex cell-specific transcriptional regulation, which is mediated by alternative promoters. Unexpectedly, we identified a 89-nucleotide alternatively spliced exon located in the 5'-untranslated region between exon 1 variants and a common exon 2 that contains the translational initiation codon. Alternative splicing even...

Macula densa neuronal nitric oxide synthase.

In the juxtaglomerular apparatus of the kidney the distal tubule returns to its own glomerulus where specialised cells, the macula densa (MD) cells, are located so that they come in contact with the tubular fluid. It is well documented that MD cells sense the distal tubular flow-rate and that when the flow is too high they are activated, which leads to vasoconstriction of the afferent arteriola...

Neuronal Nitric Oxide Synthase Is Necessary