Stable overexpression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (NOS-3) in HepG2 cells (4TO-NOS) leads to increased nitro-oxidative stress and upregulation of the cell death mediators p53 and Fas. Thus, NOS-3 overexpression has been suggested as a useful antiproliferative mechanism in hepatocarcinoma cells. We aimed to identify the underlying mechanism of cell death induced by NOS-3 overexpression a...

Mammalian nitric oxide synthases (NOS) are a source of the universal second messenger, and pivotal biochemical molecule, nitric oxide ( . NO). NOS are assumed to function catalytically in a haem-centred manner, by analogy with cytochrome P450. Yet, they differ significantly. Cobalamin, vitamin B12, is believed to function almost solely as an . NO scavenger and, latterly, as a direct, physiologi...

BACKGROUND Nitric oxide synthase (NOS), particularly endothelial and inducible forms (e/i-NOS), are expressed in various cancers, including breast cancer. In mammary fibroepithelial lesions, NOS expression in stromal cells has been reported to be lower in fibroadenomas than in phyllodes tumours. AIMS To investigate NOS expression in phyllodes tumours of varying degrees of malignancy. METHOD...

Background: Myenteric interneurones are involved in the reflexes that control the motility of the human colon. Aims: The distribution of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) immunoreactivity in myenteric interneurones was investigated in this study. Methods: DiI (1,1′didodecyl 3,3,3′,3′-indocarbocyanine perchlorate) was applied to the myenteric plexus of the human co...

Isoform-2 nitric oxide synthase (NOS-2) mRNA expression and nitric oxide (NO) production are induced in endothelial cells and monocytes by cytokines such as gammaIFN and LPS. We evaluated NOS-2 and isoform-3 NOS (NOS-3) mRNA expression and NO production in human monocytes and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), under basal conditions and after incubation with physiologic concentrati...

Nitric oxide (NO), produced by NO synthase (NOS), plays a critical role in multiple processes in the lung during the perinatal period. To better understand the regulation of pulmonary NO production in the developing primate, we determined the cell specificity and developmental changes in NOS isoform expression and action in the lungs of third-trimester fetal baboons. Immunohistochemistry in lun...

NADPH-diaphorase (NADPH-d) is commonly used as a histochemical marker for the neuronal form of the enzyme nitric oxide synthase (NOS). A recent biochemical study showed that in broken-cell preparations NADPH-d activity did not fully represent NOS and that NOS-unrelated NADPH-d activity was suppressed during fixation. Because it is unknown whether fixation also affects NOS-associated NADPH-d act...

Previous studies have shown that enforced expression of IFN-b suppressed tumor growth and metastasis. In this report, we determined whether the induction of nitric oxide synthase II (NOS II) gene is required for IFN-b-mediated antitumor activity using syngeneic mice with intact (NOS II) or genetically disrupted (NOS II) NOS II gene. PANC02-H7 highly metastatic murine pancreatic adenocarcinoma c...

PURPOSE To investigate the hypothesis that nitric oxide (NO) in the optic nerve heads of rats with chronic moderately elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) contributes to neurotoxicity of the retinal ganglion cells, the presence of the three isoforms of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) was determined in the tissue. METHODS Unilateral chronic moderately elevated IOP was produced in rats by cautery of...

An immunocytochemical double-staining method was applied in order to study the co-localisation of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) with three calcium-binding proteins, calbindin D28k (CB), calretinin (CR) and parvalbumin (PV) in the claustrum of the rat during the first 4 months of life (postnatal days: PO-P120). The co-localisation of NOS/PV and NOS/CB is reported. These neurons fall into the categ...