The small GTPase RhoA and its associated kinase ROCKII are involved in vascular smooth muscle cell contraction and endothelial NO synthase mRNA destabilization. Overactivation of the RhoA/ROCKII pathway is implicated in several pathologies, including chronic heart failure (CHF), and may contribute to the enhanced sympathetic outflow seen in CHF as a result of decreased NO availability. Thus, we...

Nitric oxide synthase (NOS) catalyzes the conversion of L-arginine to L-citrulline and NO in a two-step process involving the intermediate N(ω)-hydroxy-L-arginine (NHA). It was shown that Cpd I is the oxygenating species for L-arginine; the hydroperoxo ferric intermediate is the reactive intermediate with NHA. Methylation of the N(ω)-OH and N(ω)-H of NHA significantly inhibits the conversion of...

BACKGROUND Hyperoxia is shown to impair airway relaxation via limiting L-arginine bioavailability to nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and reducing NO production as a consequence. L-arginine can also be synthesized by L-citrulline recycling. The role of L-citrulline supplementation was investigated in the reversing of hyperoxia-induced impaired relaxation of rat tracheal smooth muscle (TSM). METHOD...

L-arginine is a semi-essential amino acid that found naturally in food. It has been shown that administration of large doses of L-arginine can induce acute pancreatitis. In the present study, we evaluated if simvastatin, a 3-hydroxy-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMG-CoA reductase) inhibitor, might prevent acute pancreatitis induced by L-arginine. Thirty male Wistar rats were randomly all...

objective(s): this study was performed to investigate the effects of mucosal acidification on mrna expression and protein synthesis of cystathionine gamma lyase (cse), cystathionine beta synthase (cbs), and mucosal release of h2s in gastric mucosa in rats. materials and methods:thirty-two rats were randomly assigned into 4 groups (8 in each), including: the control group, hcl (10 mm) treated gr...

In present study, we investigated the effects of NO modulators (L-arginine and L-NAME) in intracerebroventricular-streptozotocin (ICV-STZ, 3 mg/kg) induced rat model of sporadic AD (sAD). Pre-treatment with L-arginine (100 mg/kg/ip/day) improved ICV-STZ induced cognitive deficit in the Morris water maze (MWM) test when compared to the control (saline) group. Both memory acquisition (escape late...