Premium
Nitric Oxide: A Review for Veterinary Surgeons
Author(s) -
Howe Lisa M.,
Boothe Harry W.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
veterinary surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.652
H-Index - 79
eISSN - 1532-950X
pISSN - 0161-3499
DOI - 10.1053/jvet.2001.20341
Subject(s) - nitric oxide , medicine , nitric oxide synthase , enzyme , long term potentiation , endogeny , disease , immune system , immunology , pharmacology , pathology , biochemistry , biology , receptor
Nitric oxide (NO) is an endogenous gas that serves as a biologic messenger in many physiologic processes including neurotransmission, blood‐pressure control, the immune system's ability to kill tumor cells, and wound healing. NO is produced after oxidation of L‐arginine by a family of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) enzymes. Two of the NOS enzymes are present continuously and are thereby termed constitutive NOS. One of the enzymes, inducible NOS, is not typically expressed in resting cells and is induced by various substances including endotoxin, some cytokines, and microbial products. Thus, NO often has paradoxical activities. When NO is over‐ or underproduced, it can result in potentiation of disease states with disastrous results. This review discusses the biochemistry of NO, its functions in normal and disease states, and therapy for modulating NO production in disease states.