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Nitric oxide: An unconventional messenger in the nervous system of an orthopteroid insect
Author(s) -
Bicker Gerd
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
archives of insect biochemistry and physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.576
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1520-6327
pISSN - 0739-4462
DOI - 10.1002/arch.1062
Subject(s) - second messenger system , biology , synaptogenesis , nervous system , soluble guanylyl cyclase , microbiology and biotechnology , locust , nitric oxide , synaptic plasticity , nadph dehydrogenase , retrograde signaling , neurotransmission , neuroscience , nitric oxide synthase , intracellular , signal transduction , biochemistry , receptor , endocrinology , cyclic gmp , botany
Nitric oxide (NO) is a membrane‐permeant messenger molecule generated from the amino acid L‐arginine. NO can activate soluble guanylyl cyclase leading to the formation of cyclic GMP (cGMP) in target cells. In the nervous system, NO/cGMP signalling is thought to play essential roles in synaptic plasticity during development and also in the mature animal. This paper examines biochemical, cell biological, and physiological investigations of NO/cGMP signalling in the nervous system of the locust, a commonly used neurobiological preparation. Biochemical investigations suggest that an identical enzyme is responsible for both NO synthase (NOS) and NADPH‐diaphorase activity after tissue fixation. Immunocytochemical staining of an olfactory center in the locust brain shows that NOS‐immunoreactivity colocalizes with NADPH‐diaphorase at the cellular level. The cytochemical staining of NO donor and target cells in adult animals suggests functions in olfaction, vision, and sensorimotor integration. During development, NO is implicated in axonal outgrowth and synaptogenesis. The cellular distribution of NO‐responsive cells in neural circuits reflects potential functions of NO as a retrograde synaptic messenger, as an intracellular messenger, and as a lateral diffusible messenger independent of conventional synaptic connectivity. Arch. Insect Biochem. Physiol. 48:100–110, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.