NO and Platelet Inhibition

NO donors have been used for more than a century in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Clearly, the NO/cGMP system plays a major role in platelet inhibition in vivo and in vitro, however, the complex regulation of cGM P levels, as well as the crosstalk to the cAMP system, makes it a signaling network that is not yet fully understood. The contribution of cGMP-independent mechanisms in NO signaling in platelets is far from clear. Careful use of the crucial genetically altered mouse models, the variety of NO donors with clear differences in biochemistry and functional platelet effects as well as the many so-called specific activatory or inhibitory research tools will certainly help to elucidate the still unknown areas of NO signaling in platelets in the near future. 

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