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

Nitric oxide (NO) plays pivotal roles in controlling physiological functions, participates in pathophysiological intervention, and is involved in mechanisms underlying beneficial or untoward actions of therapeutic agents. Endogenous nitric oxide is formed by three isoforms of nitric oxide synthase: endothelial, neurogenic and inducible. The former two are constitutively present mainly in the en...

Nitric-oxide synthase, the enzyme responsible for mammalian nitric oxide generation, and cytochrome P450, the major enzymes involved in drug metabolism, share striking similarities. Therefore, it makes sense that cytochrome P450 drug mediated biotransformations might play an important role in the pharmacological modulation of nitric oxide synthase. In this work, we have undertaken an integrated...

BACKGROUND Fractional exhaled nitric oxide is elevated in allergen-provoked asthma. The cellular and molecular source of the elevated fractional exhaled nitric oxide is, however, uncertain. OBJECTIVE To investigate whether fractional exhaled nitric oxide is associated with increased airway epithelial inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in allergen-provoked asthma. METHODS Fractional exha...

A healthy endothelium is essential for vascular homeostasis, and preservation of endothelial cell function is critical for maintaining transplant allograft function. Damage to the microvascular endothelial cells is now regarded as a characteristic feature of acute vascular rejection, an important predictor of graft loss. It is also linked with transplant vasculopathy, often associated with chro...

Migraine shows strong familial aggregation. However, the number of genes involved in the disorder is unknown and not identified. Nitric oxide is involved in the central processing of pain stimuli and plays an important role in the regulation of basal or stimulated vasodilation. Nitric oxide synthase, which controls the synthesis of nitric oxide, could possibly be a cause, or candidate gene, in ...

NADPH diaphorase histochemistry selectively labels a number of discrete populations of neurons throughout the nervous system. This simple and robust technique has been used in a great many experimental and neuropathological studies; however, the function of this enzyme has remained a matter of speculation. We, therefore, undertook to characterize this enzyme biochemically. With biochemical and ...

ABSTRACT We analyzed the mechanisms underlying enhanced IgA production in cells of Peyer's patch via membrane vesicles derived from Lactobacillus sakei subsp. NBRC 15893. Depletion CD11c+ suppressed mediated by vesicles. Meanwhile, stimulation bone-marrow–derived dendritic with increased gene expression inducible nitric oxide synthase, retinaldehyde dehydrogenase 2, and several inflammatory cyt...

Nitric Oxide as an Efferent Modulator of Circadian Pacemaker Neurones in the Eye of the Marine Mollusc Bulla gouldiana. Background: Nitric oxide synthase NOS is essential for the synthesis of nitric oxide. The diurnal oscillation of NOS in the hippocampus is.Nitric oxide NO plays an important role in phase-shifting of circadian neuronal activities in the suprachiasmatic nucleus and circadian be...

Ascorbic acid and nitric oxide are known to play important roles in epilepsy. The aim of present study was to identify the involvement of nitric oxide (NO) in the anticonvulsant effects of ascorbic acid on penicillin-induced epileptiform activity in rats. Intracortical injection of penicillin (500, International Units (IU)) into the left sensorimotor cortex induced epileptiform activity within ...