Mice deficient in inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS; C57Bl/6Ai-[KO]NOS2 N5) or wild-type C57Bl/6 mice were exposed to 1 part/million of ozone 8 h/night or to filtered air for three consecutive nights. Endpoints measured included lavagable total protein, macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-2, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9, cell content, and tyrosine nitration of whole lung proteins. Ozo...

The anti-inflammatory potential of hydrophilic polyphenolic-rich extracts obtained from native Australian herbs: anise myrtle, lemon myrtle and Tasmannia pepper leaf, and a reference sample bay leaf, was evaluated using the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated murine macrophage RAW 264.7 model. Pretreatment with all herbal extracts at non-cytotoxic concentrations reduced the LPS-induced protein l...

The glucocorticoid receptor (GR) is ubiquitously expressed on nearly all cell types, but tissue-specific deletion of this receptor can produce dramatic whole organism phenotypes. In this study we investigated the role of the endothelial GR in sepsis in vivo and in vitro. Mice with an endothelial-specific GR deletion and controls were treated with 12.5 mg/kg LPS and phenotyped. Mice lacking GR s...

OBJECTIVE To observe the effects of electroacupuncture treatment on nitrergic neurotransmitter in bladder neck and detrusor of rats with unstable bladder. METHODS Rat models of unstable bladder were established by operation to induce urethral obstruction. Electroacupuncture treatment was given by acupuncturing Huiyang and Zhonglushu points for a week. Then the neuronal nitric oxide synthase (...

Two new indole alkaloids, neolamarckines A and B (1, 2) were isolated from the leaves of Neolamarckia cadamba (Rubiaceae). Structural elucidation of 1 and 2 was performed by combination of 2D-NMR and circular dichroism (CD) spectra, and chemical correlations. Neolamarckine A (1) showed inhibition of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) dose dependently.

Asbestos, a known occupational pollutant, may upregulate the activity of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and thus the production of nitric oxide (NO). This study investigated whether iNOS (CCTTT)(n) polymorphism is associated with an increased asbestosis risk in exposed workers. The study cohort consisted of 262 cases with asbestosis and 265 controls with no asbestos-related disease. For...

Five new 13,14-epoxybriarane diterpenoids, briarenolides U-Y (1-5), were isolated from the octocoral Briareum sp. The structures of briaranes 1-5 were elucidated by spectroscopic methods. Briarenolides U-Y (1-5) were found to significantly inhibit the expression of the pro-inflammatory inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) protein of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-st...

Objective: SIRT1, a class III histone/protein deacetylase, is known to interfere NF-κB signaling pathway and thereby has an anti-inflammatory function. Due to the central role of NF-κB in cytokine-mediated pancreatic β-cell damage, we postulated that SIRT1 might work in pancreatic β-cell damage model. Research Design and Methods: RINm5F (RIN) cells or isolated rat islets were treated with IL-1β...

OBJECTIVE We have attempted to demonstrate the induction of inducible nitric oxide synthase in human vascular tissue and define the capacity of different cytokines to induce this enzyme. METHODS Segments of human arteries were stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (10 micrograms/ml), interleukin-1 beta (5 U/ml), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (10 U/ml), and interferon-gamma (200 U/ml). Cytokines we...

Bighorn sheep are more susceptible to respiratory infection by Mannheimia haemolytica than are domestic sheep. In response to bacterial challenge, macrophages produce a number of molecules that play key roles in the inflammatory response, including highly reactive nitrogen intermediates such as nitric oxide (NO). Supernatants from monocyte-derived macrophages cultured with M. haemolytica LPS we...