Background: Skin flap grafting is a popular approach for reconstruction of critical skin and underlying soft tissue injuries. In a previous study, we demonstrated the beneficial effects of two 5α-reductase inhibitors, azelaic acid and finasteride, on tissue survival in a rat model of skin flap grafting. In the current study, we investigated the involvement of nitric oxide and inducible nitric o...

MRL-I/r/I/r mice spontaneously develop various manifestations of autoimmunity indnding an inflammatory arthropathy and immune complex glomerulonephritis. This study examines the role of nitric oxide, a molecule with proinfhmmatory actions, in the pathogenesis of MRL1/r/I/r autoimmune disease. MRL-I/r/I/r mice excreted more urinary nitrite/nitrate (an in vivo marker of nitric oxide production) t...

the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of nigella sativa  (ns) fixed oil in comparison to dexamethasone (dex) on inducible nitric oxide synthase (inos), peripheral blood eosinophils (pbe), allergen specific serum igg1 and interleukins and airway inflammation in a murine model of allergic asthma. thirty-one mice were divided into four groups. group  i (n =  6) served as the control...

The molecular messenger nitric oxide (NO) is synthesized endogenously from L-arginine by three isoforms of the enzyme NO synthase. The isoform most consistently associated with neoplasia is the inducible form, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). However, the role played by the NO/iNOS system in tumor development is complex, and both promoting and inhibitory effects on neoplasia have been re...

PURPOSE We attempted to determine whether oral L-arginine, the substrate for nitric oxide synthase, increases nitric oxide synthase activity and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) levels in the urine from interstitial cystitis patients. Nitric oxide and cGMP are decreased in urine from interstitial cystitis patients and both induce smooth muscle relaxation and immunological responses. Increa...

Nitric oxide is an important cellular mediator that plays a role in regulating cellular proliferation of both normal and tumor cells. In the present study, we characterized nitric oxide production by the human colon adenocarcinoma cell line DLD-1 and examined the effects of 5-fluorouracil (5-FUra), an antimetabolite effective against colon tumors, on nitric oxide production. IFN-gamma was found...