Influenza viral infection induces increases in non-rapid eye movement sleep and decreases in rapid eye movement sleep in normal mice. An array of cytokines is produced during the infection, and some of them, such as IL-1beta and TNF-alpha, are well-defined somnogenic substances. It is suggested that nitric oxide (NO) may mediate the sleep-promoting effects of these cytokines. In this study, we ...

Erectile dysfunction is caused due to neuropathy, resulting from a high oxidative stress, in this way treatment with antioxidants may be promising. Aim of work was investigate the effects administration 2% L-glutamine and 1% L-glutathione on penile tissue diabetic rats analyzing nerve fibers that expressing Nitric Oxide Synthase Neuronal (nNOS). Forty-eight male Wistar distributed into six grou...

Methamphetamine (METH) is a powerful psychostimulant that produces dopaminergic neurotoxicity manifested by a decrease in the levels of dopamine, tyrosine hydroxylase activity and dopamine transporter (DAT) binding sites in the nigrostriatal system. We have recently reported that blockade of the neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) isoform by 7-nitroindazole provides protection against METH-in...

Morphological and functional changes in the enteric nervous system (ENS) have been reported in inflammatory bowel disease. We examined the effects of inflammation on the expression of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and nNOS in the muscularis externae of two models of colonic inflammation, trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced colitis, which models Crohn's disease-like inflammation, and...

Neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) is a key enzyme for nitric oxide production in neuronal tissues and contributes to the spinal central sensitization in inflammatory pain. However, the role of nNOS in neuropathic pain remains unclear. The present study combined a genetic strategy with a pharmacologic approach to examine the effects of genetic knockout and pharmacologic inhibition of nNOS on...

Arginine vasopressin (AVP) plays a central role in water balance. In principal cells of the collecting duct system, AVP controls the expression of several genes, including aquaporin-2. Because nitric oxide (NO) participates in the regulation of water reabsorption by the collecting duct system, we analyzed the effect of AVP on the expression of NO synthase (NOS) isoforms in the kidney. Rats were...

Post-synaptic density-95 (PSD-95) is a neuronal scaffolding protein that associates with N -methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors and links them to intracellular signalling molecules. In neurons, neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) binds selectively to the second PDZ domain (PDZ2) of PSD-95, thereby exhibiting physiological activation triggered via NMDA receptors. We have demonstrated previousl...

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a lethal muscle disease caused by dystrophin deficiency. In normal muscle, dystrophin helps maintain sarcolemmal stability. Dystrophin also recruits neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) to the sarcolemma. Failure to anchor nNOS to the membrane leads to functional ischemia and aggravates muscle disease in DMD. Over the past two decades, a great variety of th...

Rats, mice, and hamsters are commonly used laboratory rodents in the experimental modeling strategies of avulsion-induced motoneuron degenerations. It is necessary to study the species-specific gene expression in spinal cord in response to avulsion. We carried out the brachial roots avulsion in all animals and compared the survival and nNOS gene expression in injured motoneurons and spinal segm...