Estrogens are known to modulate lower urinary tract (LUT) trophicity and neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) expression in several organs. The aim of this study was to explore the effects of endogenous and supraestrus levels of 17beta-estradiol (E2) on LUT and urethral nNOS expression and function. LUT function and histology and urethral nNOS expression were studied in adult female mice subje...

Nitric oxide (NO), an unconventional and diffusible neurotransmitter, is synthesized by nitric oxide synthase (NOS). NMDA glutamate receptors are potent regulators of NO synthesis. We have used dual-label immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy to examine forebrain neurons in the rat that contain high levels of neuronal NOS (nNOS) for the presence of the NMDAR1 receptor subunit protein and r...

The present study investigated the immunohistochemical localization of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) in the hypothalamoneurohypophyseal system (HNS) of the developing rats on postnatal day 1 (PN1), 7 (PN7), 14 (PN14), 21 (PN21), and the adult rats. The nNOS-positive neurons were not discernable in the supraoptic nucleus (SON), the paraventricular nucleus (PVN), and the median eminence (...

Hypertension is a prevalent condition worldwide and is the key risk factor for fatal cardiovascular complications, such as stroke, sudden cardiac death and heart failure. Reduced bioavailability of nitric oxide (NO) in the endothelium is an important precursor for impaired vasodilation and hypertension. In the heart, NO deficiency deteriorates the adverse consequences of pressure-overload and c...

Our previous studies show that a decrease in endogenous nitric oxide (NO) is involved in the blunted outward K(+) currents in carotid body (CB) glomus cells from chronic heart failure (CHF) rabbits. In the present study, we measured the effects of the neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) transgene on the K(+) currents in CB glomus cells from pacing-induced CHF rabbits. Using single-cell real-t...

Methamphetamine (METH) is a potent psychostimulant known to produce neurotoxicity. The dopaminergic pathway is particularly sensitive to METH. Recent studies showed that 7-nitroindazole (7-NI), a selective inhibitor of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), provided protection against METH neurotoxicity both in vitro and in vivo. The present studies were conducted to determine the nNOS activity...

NOSs (NO synthases, EC 1.14.13.39) are haem-thiolate enzymes that catalyse a two-step oxidation of L-arginine to generate NO. The structural and electronic features that regulate their NO synthesis activity are incompletely understood. To investigate how haem electronics govern the catalytic properties of NOS, we utilized a bacterial haem transporter protein to overexpress a mesohaem-containing...

nNOS, anchored to the sarcolemma through its interactions with the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex, is dramatically reduced in dystrophin-deficient mdx mice and Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients. Recent evidence suggests that loss of nNOS in dystrophin-deficient muscle may contribute significantly to the progression of muscle pathology through a variety of mechanisms. To investigate whether ...

In isolated cell systems, nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity is regulated by caveolin (CAV), a resident caveolae coat protein. Because little is known of this interaction in vivo, we tested whether NOS and caveolin are distributed together in the intact organism. Using immunohistochemistry, we investigated the localization of constitutive neuronal (nNOS) and endothelial (eNOS) enzyme isoforms...