Premium
Wei Lun Visiting Professorial Lecture: Nitric Oxide in the Regulation of Vascular Function: An Historical Overview
Author(s) -
Ignarro Louis J.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of cardiac surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.428
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1540-8191
pISSN - 0886-0440
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-8191.2001.tb01148.x
Subject(s) - nitric oxide , bronchodilation , medicine , vascular smooth muscle , guanylate cyclase , vasodilation , pharmacology , cyclic gmp , heme , smooth muscle , biochemistry , biology , enzyme , asthma , bronchodilator
A bstract The field of nitric oxide (NO) research has developed in explosive proportions since the discovery of endogenous NO in 1986. The biological importance of NO was first shown by the findings that nitroglycerin causes vasodilation by liberating NO in the smooth muscle, and activating guanylate cyclase to raise smooth muscle levels of cyclic GMP. NO also inhibits platelet aggregation by cyclic GMP mechanisms. NO activates guanylate cyclase by heme dependent mechanisms involving the formation of a nitrosyl‐heme complex. The high pharmacological potency of NO was finally understood when NO was shown to be formed endogenously, and to be the same as EDRF. Based on these properties of NO, new drugs can be developed as vasodilators and antiplatelet agents for the treatment of a variety of vascular disorders including impotency. NO elicits many other actions in mammalian systems including inhibition of cell proliferation, airway bronchodilation, antimicrobial effects, other host defense effects, and also modulates learning and memory as well as other central functions. This allows for an extensive opportunity to develop novel drugs for the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of a number of different diseases, many of which are vascular in origin.