To evaluate the role of nitric oxide (NO) in the flow response after brief coronary arterial occlusion, NO formation by the isolated guinea pig heart was assessed by a specific difference spectrophotometric assay. Release of NO under basal conditions was 121.8 +/- 10.5 pmol x min-1 and increased to 211.1 +/- 16.8 pmol x min-1 after 60 seconds of coronary occlusion. Simultaneously, release of cG...

Nitric oxide (NO) is released into nasal air, but its function is unknown. We hypothesized that nasal vascular tone and/or flow influences temperature conditioning of nasal air and that NO participates in this process. We measured nasal air temperature (via a thermocouple) and exhaled nasal NO release (by chemiluminescence) in five humans and examined the effects of an aerosolized vasoconstrict...

Lactoferrin (LF) is a multifunctional protein that is found in milk, neutrophils, and other biological fluids, and its receptors have also been identified in the central nervous system. Recently, we found that bovine milk-derived LF (BLF) produced analgesia via a mu-opioid receptor-mediated response in the spinal cord. However, the precise mechanism of this analgesic effect remains unclear. In ...

Intraperitoneal injection of all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) results in a reduction of blood pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats. However, the mechanisms involved in this effect are not clear. We hypothesized that ATRA may relax resistance arteries. In this study, we found that ATRA relaxed phenylephrine-preconstricted mesenteric arterial rings, which were abrogated by the removal of the...

BACKGROUND The role of endogenous nitric oxide (NO) and cyclooxygenase metabolites was investigated in contractile responses of small omental arteries from patients with hyperdynamic septic shock. METHODS AND RESULTS Expression of inducible NO synthase (immunostaining) and a high but variable level of NO production (NO spin trapping) was detected in arteries from patients with septic shock. I...

Pulmonary vasoconstriction is influenced by inactivation of nitric oxide (NO) with extracellular superoxide (O2-*). Because the short-lived O2-* anion cannot diffuse across plasma membranes, its release from vascular cells requires specialized mechanisms that have not been well delineated in the pulmonary circulation. We have shown that the bicarbonate (HCO3-)-chloride anion exchange protein (A...

We used a newly developed digital motion analysis video technique to study the effects of nitric oxide (NO) and epinephrine on the early larval arterial and venous vasculature of zebrafish. Application of the NO donor sodium nitroprusside resulted in a significant increase in both the venous and arterial vessel diameters, whereas N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester caused a significant decrease ...

It has been shown that nitric oxide (NO) increases aggression in male mice, whereas it decreases aggression in lactating female mice and prairie voles. It is also known that aggression can be exhibited at different levels in rodent species, strain or subtypes. The aims of this study were to investigate the proportion of aggressiveness in Wistar rats, the effect of intraperitoneally administered...

Cardioprotection by anesthetic preconditioning (APC) can be abolished by nitric oxide (NO*) synthase inhibitors or by reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavengers. We previously reported attenuated mitochondrial electron transport (ET) and increased ROS generation during preconditioning sevoflurane exposure as part of the triggering mechanism of APC. We hypothesized that NO* and other ROS mediate a...

We tested the hypothesis that atopy and/or allergic lung inflammation enhances alpha1-adrenoceptor-mediated contractions of the bronchial artery. Bronchial arterial resistance vessels were isolated from rabbits that had undergone either systemic ovalbumin (OVA) sensitization followed by saline aerosol challenge (OVA/saline rabbits), or OVA sensitization followed by OVA aerosol challenge (OVA/OV...