Systemic inflammation and oxidative stress are features of normal pregnancy and, in excess, contribute to the pathogenesis of preeclampsia. Inflammatory cell activation stimulates uptake of arginine (the precursor for nitric oxide) by transport system y+, expression of one of its genes (CAT-2) together with inducible nitric oxide synthase, leading to nitric oxide production. We investigated whe...

BACKGROUND Sulphydryl compounds and nitric oxide are essential in maintaining gastric mucosal integrity. AIMS To characterise the gastric damage induced by a sulphydryl blocker, to evaluate the role of nitric oxide in its pathogenesis, and to reveal its possible prevention by scavenging of free radicals. METHODS Gastritis was induced in rats by addition of iodoacetamide (0.1%) to the drinki...

Overproduction of nitric oxide (NO) by inducible NO synthase (iNOS) plays a role in the pathophysiology of septic shock. The depression of cardiac contractility in such situations is mediated by proinflammatory cytokines, including interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha). The effects of two NOS inhibitors with different isoform selectivity were compared in isol...

Inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) inhibition was recently shown to exert no effect on allergen challenge in human asthma, raising serious concerns about the role of the protein in the disease. The present study investigated the role of iNOS in ovalbumin-induced eosinophilia from the perspective of its relationship with poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1) and oxidative DNA damage. A mous...

The role of nitric oxide in the immune response to allogeneic tissue was explored in an in vivo cardiac transplant model in the rat. Nitric oxide production during organ rejection was demonstrated by elevations in systemic serum nitrite/nitrate levels and by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. Messenger RNA for the inducible nitric oxide synthase enzyme was detected in the rejecting a...

BACKGROUND/AIMS To investigate the role of endothelial dysfunction on left ventricular remodeling in patients with chronic kidney disease and to evaluate the correlation between endothelial dysfunction and left ventricular remodeling. METHODS Seventy-three patients with chronic kidney disease as study-group and thirty healthy volunteers as control-group were enrolled in the present study. All...