Nitric oxide, cardiovascular system

Physiological sites proposed for nitric oxide action include the immune system, where nitric oxide acts as a cytostatic agent, is tumoricidal, and can inhibit viral replication. In the cardiovascular system, nitric oxide is the biological mediator of vasodilator responses to agents such as acetylcholine and bradykinin, which act as receptors on endothelial cells to activate NOS and stimulate nitric oxide production. Diffusible nitric oxide then activates guanylate cyclase in vascular smooth muscle cells, leading to the production of cyclic guano-sine monophosphate (GMP) and vasodilation. In the brain, stimulation of A-methyl-o-aspartate receptors on... 

Horowitz, J.D., Nitrovasodilators, in Nitric Oxide and the Cardiovascular System, edited by Loscalzo, J., Vita, J.A., Humana Press Totowa, NJ 2000, p.383-409... 

The relatively acidic thiol on serum albumin forms a fairly stable S-nitroso adduct with nitric oxide, which may serve to preserve and carry NO throughout the circulatory system [162,163]. Bacterial toxins released in toxic-shock syndrome induce excessive NO-synthase activity in macrophages. The resulting arterial expansion may induce the cardiovascular collapse associated with toxic shock syndrome [164]. Nitrous acid reacts with DNA to form dG-N2-dG interstrand crosslinks at the sequence 5 CG [165]. NO can also deaminate cytidine [166] and deoxyguanosine [167] and so may function as a mutagen. The rate law for NO reacting with O2 has been measured electrochemically as [168] ... 

The physiological importance of nitric oxide should also be mentioned. It plays an important role in smooth muscle relaxation, platelet inhibition, neurotransmission, immune regulation, and penile erection (Nobel Prize in 1998 for the discovery of its role in the cardiovascular system). The importance of NO in biological systems stimulated the development of electrochemical sensors and the investigation of the electrochemical behavior of that compound. 

Sartori C, Lepori M, Scherrer U. Interaction between nitric oxide and the cholinergic and sympathetic nervous system in cardiovascular control in humans. Pharmacol Ther. 2005 106 209-220. 

Fedisdi M (1991) Ihe action and metabolism of organic nitrates and their similarity with endothelium-derived rdaxing fa (EDRF). hi Moncada S, Higgs EA, Berrazueta IR eds. Clinical rdevance of nitric oxide in the cardiovascular system, Edioomplet Madrid, pp. 29-43... 

Loscalzo, L Welch, G. Nitric oxide and the cardiovascular system. Prog. Cardiovasc. Dis. 1995, 38, 87-104. 

Garlic has been shown to have significant effects on the cardiovascular system. Such areas include improvement in lipids, modest effects on blood pressure, platelet inhibition, antioxidant effects, and a decrease in fibrinolytic activity. In vitro studies have shown garlic possesses specific antiatherosclerotic effects such as reducing inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) mRNA expression (10), inhibition of oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-induced lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release and inhibition of oxidized LDL-induced depletion of glutathione (11). 

Loscalzo J, Vita J, eds. 2000. Nitric Oxide and the Cardiovascular System. To-towa, NJ Humana Press... 

Nitric oxide is a molecule with pleiotropic effects on the cardiovascular system. Figure 15. Nitric oxide (NO) is produced when NO synthase (NOS) converts L-ar-ginine to citrulline. The major target of NO in the cardiovascular system is the NO sensitive soluble guanyl cyclase that converts guanosine triphosphate (GTP) to c-GMP. 

J. Loscaizo and G. Welch Nitric oxide and its role in the cardiovascular system. Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases 38,87 (1995). 

Robert F. Furchgott, Louis J. Ignarro, Fend Murad Nitric oxide as a signaling molecule In the cardiovascular system... 

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