Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Nitric oxide: a review for veterinary surgeons.
- Journal:
- Veterinary surgery : VS
- Year:
- 2001
- Authors:
- Howe, L M & Boothe, H W
- Affiliation:
- Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery · United States
Plain-English summary
Nitric oxide (NO) is a gas that our bodies naturally produce and plays important roles in many processes, like helping nerves communicate, controlling blood pressure, fighting tumors, and healing wounds. It is made from a substance called L-arginine by certain enzymes in the body. Some of these enzymes are always present, while others are only activated in response to certain triggers, like infections or inflammation. Because of this, NO can sometimes have opposite effects depending on how much is produced, which can lead to health problems. This review looks at how NO works in both healthy and sick animals, and discusses ways to adjust its production when needed.
Abstract
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.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11172460/