Hypertension secondary to scavenging of NO remains a limitation in the use of HBOCs (haemoglobin-based oxygen carriers). Recent studies suggest that nitrite reduction to NO by deoxyhaemoglobin supports NO signalling. In the present study we tested whether nitrite would attenuate HBOC-mediated hypertension using HBOC-201 (Biopure), a bovine cross-linked, low-oxygen-affinity haemoglobin. In a sim...

While it has long been known that the reduction of nitrite to nitric oxide (NO) forms iron-nitrosyl-myoglobin and is the basis of meat curing, a greater biological activity of the nitrite anion has only recently been appreciated. In the stomach, NO is formed from acidic reduction of nitrite and increases mucous barrier thickness and gastric blood flow (see the related study beginning on page 10...

Induction, energy gain, effect on growth, and interaction of nitrate and nitrite reduction of Bradyrhizobium sp. (Lupinus) USDA 3045 were characterized. Both nitrate and nitrite were reduced in air, although nitrite reduction was insensitive to ammonium inhibition. Anaerobic reduction of both ions was shown to be linked with energy conservation. A dissimilatory ammonification process was detect...

Neuroglobin (Ngb) is a six-coordinate globin that can catalyze the reduction of nitrite to nitric oxide. Although this reaction is common to heme proteins, the molecular interactions in the heme pocket that regulate this reaction are largely unknown. We have shown that the H64L Ngb mutation increases the rate of nitrite reduction by 2000-fold compared to that of wild-type Ngb [Tiso, M., et al. ...

The pathway of anaerobic reduction of nitrite to nitrogen gas (N2) by cell suspensions of the denitrifier, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, was studied using the techniques of gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. While release of nitrous oxide (N2O) is not normally detected during the reduction of nitrite to N2 by this organism, 15N from [15N]nitrite nevertheless can be trapped quantitatively as 15...

The copper-containing nitrite reductases (CuNIRs) are a class of enzymes that mediate the reduction of nitrite to nitric oxide in biological systems. Metal-ligand complexes that reproduce the salient features of the active site of CuNIRs are therefore of fundamental interest, both for elucidating the possible mode of action of the enzymes and for developing biomimetic catalysts for nitrite redu...

Xanthine oxidoreductase (XOR) is progressively inactivated while catalysing the reduction of inorganic nitrite to NO by xanthine. Inactivation results from conversion of the enzyme into its desulpho-form. The rate of inactivation increases with nitrite concentration. Similar behaviour was shown when NADH replaced xanthine as reducing substrate. A kinetic model is proposed incorporating a 'suici...

Growing evidence suggests that nitrite, acting via reduction to nitric oxide by deoxyhemoglobin, may play an important role in local control of blood flow during hypoxia. To investigate the effect of hypoxia (65 Torr arterial Po(2)) on the kinetic properties of nitrite, a bolus injection of sodium nitrite (10 mg/kg iv) was given to normoxic or hypoxic newborn lambs, and the time course of plasm...

BACKGROUND Nitrite is a nitric oxide (NO) metabolite in tissues and blood, which can be converted to NO under hypoxia to facilitate tissue perfusion. Although nitrite is known to cause vasodilation following its reduction to NO, the effect of nitrite on platelet activity remains unclear. In this study, the effect of nitrite and nitrite+erythrocytes, with and without deoxygenation, on platelet a...