A crucial role for GRK2 in regulation of endothelial cell nitric oxide synthase function in portal hypertension

Nitric oxide (NO) production by endothelial cell nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) in sinusoidal endothelial cells is reduced in the injured liver and leads to intrahepatic portal hypertension. We sought to understand the mechanism underlying defective eNOS function. Phosphorylation of the serine-threonine kinase Akt, which activates eNOS, was substantially reduced in sinusoidal endothelial cells from injured livers. Overexpression of Akt in vivo restored phosphorylation of Akt and production of NO and reduced portal pressure in portal hypertensive rats. We found that Akt physically interacts with G-protein-coupled receptor kinase-2 (GRK2), and that this interaction inhibits Akt activity. Furthermore, GRK2 expression increased in sinusoidal endothelial cells from portal hypertensive rats and knockdown of GRK2 restored Akt phosphorylation and NO production, and normalized portal pressure. Finally, after liver injury, GRK2-deficient mice developed less severe portal hypertension than control mice. Thus, an important mechanism underlying impaired activity of eNOS in injured sinusoidal endothelial cells is defective phosphorylation of Akt caused by overexpression of GRK2 after injury.     

The mechanism of potentiation of the glutamate-induced neurotoxicity by serum albumin. A possible role of nitric oxide

Potentiation of the delayed (Glu)-induced neurotoxicity by serum albumin (SA) was studied in experiments with cultured cerebellar granule cells. The delayed neuronal death (DND) was evaluated by counting neurons containing or excluding Trypan Blue 4 h after treatment with Glu. Cytoplasmic Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) was measured in individual Fura-2-loaded neurons. It was shown that a 15-min application of bovine SA (4 mg/ml) together with Glu (100 microM, 10 microM glycine, Mg2+-free solution) enhanced DND in the culture 1.7 times (43.1+/-3.1%) with respect to the effect induced by Glu alone (24.6+/-0.6%). The bovine SA application did not change the dynamics of [Ca2+]i response during a short-term (1 min) and long-term (15 min) Glu-treatment. DND was prevented by simultaneous application of Glu and inhibitor of NO-synthase N omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), 100 microM) (10.8+/-1.0%) as well as by the application of Glu with SA and L-NAME (9.8+/-1.2%). In order to evaluate the role of nitric oxide (NO) in the SA effect, the cells were incubated for 15 min with the NO-donors sodium nitroprusside (SNP, 10 and 100 microM) and sodium nitrite (NaNO2, 10 and 100 microM) together with SA and in its absence. SA also greatly enhanced the DND induced by SNP and NaNO2. Thus, the DND after simultaneous treatment with SA and SNP was 16.3+/-2.5% (10 microM) or 29.6+/-2.1% (100 microM), and 9.6+/-0.8% (10 microM) and 19.7+/-2.1% after treatment with SNP alone. Exposure to SA together with NaNO2 led to the DND increase up to 26.5+/-1.9% (10 microM) and 37.7+/-3.5% (100 microM) in comparison with 7.4+/-2.0% (10 microM) and 18.9+/-0.8% (100 microM) in experiments with NaNO2 alone. Taking into account the ability of NO and NO2 to oxidize unsaturated fatty acids and the ability of SA to bind them after their hydrolytic removal, we suggested that the SA-induced potentiation of Glu neurotoxicity resulted from exacerbation of the toxic effects of NO and other trace radicals on the neuronal membranes. This hypothesis was supported by the finding that SA also enhanced the neurotoxicity of the lipid prooxidant FeCl2. The simultaneous 15-min application of FeCl2 (10 microM) and SA caused a 51.5+/-4.0% increase in DND, which exceeded 2.4 times the effect produced by FeCl2 alone (21.3+/-2.3%).     

The role of nitric oxide in regulation of the cardiovascular system in reptiles

The roles that nitric oxide (NO) plays in the cardiovascular system of reptiles are reviewed, with particular emphasis on its effects on central vascular blood flows in the systemic and pulmonary circulations. New data is presented that describes the effects on hemodynamic variables in varanid lizards of exogenously administered NO via the nitric oxide donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and inhibition of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) by l-nitroarginine methyl ester (l-NAME). Furthermore, preliminary data on the effects of SNP on hemodynamic variables in the tegu lizard are presented. The findings are compared with previously published data from our laboratory on three other species of reptiles: pythons (), rattlesnakes () and turtles (). These five species of reptiles possess different combinations of division of the heart and structural complexity of the lungs. Comparison of their responses to NO donors and NOS inhibitors may reveal whether the potential contribution of NO to vascular tone correlates with pulmonary complexity and/or with blood pressure. All existing studies on reptiles have clearly established a potential role for NO in regulating vascular tone in the systemic circulation and NO may be important for maintaining basal systemic vascular tone in varanid lizards, pythons and turtles, through a continuous release of NO. In contrast, the pulmonary circulation is less responsive to NO donors or NOS inhibitors, and it was only in pythons and varanid lizards that the lungs responded to SNP. Both species have a functionally separated heart, so it is possible that NO may exert a larger role in species with low pulmonary blood pressures, irrespective of lung complexity.     

The role of N-glycosylation in function and surface trafficking of the human dopamine transporter

The present study addressed the role of N-linked glycosylation of the human dopamine transporter (DAT) in its function with the help of mutants, in which canonical N-glycosylation sites have been removed (N181Q, N181Q,N188Q, and N181Q,N188Q,N205Q), expressed in human embryonic kidney-293 cells. Removal of canonical sites produced lower molecular weight species as did enzymatic deglycosylation or blockade of glycosylation, and all three canonical sites were found to carry sugars. Prevention of N-glycosylation reduced both surface and intracellular DAT. Although partially or non-glycosylated DAT was somewhat less represented at the surface, no evidence was found for preferential exclusion of such material from the plasma membrane, indicating that glycosylation is not essential for DAT expression. Non-glycosylated DAT was less stable at the surface as revealed by apparently enhanced endocytosis, consonant with weaker DAT immunofluorescence at the cell surface and stronger presence in cytosol in confocal analysis of the double and triple mutant. Non-glycosylated DAT did not transport dopamine as efficiently as wild-type DAT as judged from the sharp reduction in uptake V(max), and prevention of N-glycosylation enhanced the potency of cocaine-like drugs in inhibiting dopamine uptake into intact cells without changing their affinity for DAT when measured in membrane preparations prepared from these cells. Thus, non-glycosylated DAT at the cell surface displays appreciably reduced catalytic activity and altered inhibitor sensitivity compared with wild type.     

The double-edged role of nitric oxide in brain function and superoxide-mediated injury.

Fetal ischemia or hypoxia can lead to cerebral palsy, mental retardation and epilepsy. We propose that the production of nitric oxide and oxygen radicals by neurons when ischemic or hypoxic brain is reperfused may contribute to cerebral injury. Ischemia will depolarize neuronal membranes causing the synaptic discharge of the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate, which in turn opens the voltage-dependent, N-methyl-D-aspartic acid-specific glutamate receptor/ionophore, allowing calcium to accumulate in the neuron. Calcium in turn activates an oxygen-dependent neuronal nitric oxide synthetase, which oxidizes arginine to produce nitric oxide (.NO) when oxygen is readmitted to brain by reperfusion. Nitric oxide reacts with the oxygen radical superoxide (O2-), also produced by reperfusion, to form peroxynitrite (ONOO-). Peroxynitrite can diffuse for several micrometers before decomposing to form the powerful and cytotoxic oxidants hydroxyl radical and nitrogen dioxide. The hypothesis is consistent with available evidence on the protective action of glutamate antagonists and of oxygen radical scavengers for limiting cerebral infarction following focal ischemia.     

Epidermal growth factor suppresses nitric oxide and hydrogen peroxide production by keratinocytes. Potential role for nitric oxide in the regulation of wound healing.

In the skin, wounding initiates a complex array of physiological processes mediated by growth factors and inflammatory mediators which stimulate tissue repair and protect against infection. We report that primary cultures of human keratinocytes and a mouse keratinocyte cell line respond to the inflammatory stimuli gamma-interferon and lipopolysaccharide or tumor necrosis factor-alpha by producing nitric oxide and hydrogen peroxide, two reactive mediators that are important in nonspecific host defense. Nitric oxide is produced by the l-arginine- and NADPH-dependent enzyme, nitric oxide synthase. In murine keratinocytes, optimal enzymatic activity was found to be dependent on Ca2+ and calmodulin as well as on glutathione. Inflammatory mediators were also found to inhibit the growth of keratinocytes, an effect that could be reversed by a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor. Epidermal growth factor (EGF), which promotes wound healing by stimulating cellular proliferation, was found to be a potent antagonist of reactive nitrogen and reactive oxygen intermediate production by keratinocytes. EGF also reversed the growth inhibitory actions of the inflammatory mediators. These data suggest that nitric oxide produced by keratinocytes is important in the control of cellular proliferation during wound healing. Our findings that EGF effectively regulates the production of free radicals by keratinocytes may represent an important pathway by which this growth factor not only stimulates epidermal cell proliferation but also facilitates the resolution of inflammation following wounding.     

Up-regulation of inducible nitric oxide synthase and nitric oxide in Helicobacter pylori-infected human gastric epithelial cells: possible role of interferon-gamma in polarized nitric oxide secretion

Background. Nitric oxide (NO) generated by nitric oxide synthase (NOS) is known to be an important modulator of the mucosal inflammatory response. In this study, we questioned whether Helicobacter pylori infection could up‐regulate the epithelial cell inducible NOS (iNOS) gene expression and whether NO production could show polarity that can be regulated by immune mediators. Materials and Methods. Human gastric epithelial cell lines were infected with H. pylori, and the iNOS mRNA expression was assessed by quantitative RT‐PCR. NO production was assayed by determining nitrite/nitrate levels in culture supernatants. To determine the polarity of NO secretion by the H. pylori‐infected epithelial cells, Caco‐2 cells were cultured as polarized monolayers in transwell chambers, and NO production was measured. Results. iNOS mRNA levels were significantly up‐regulated in the cells infected with H. pylori, and expression of iNOS protein was confirmed by Western blot analysis. Increased NO production in the gastric epithelial cells was seen as early as 18 hours postinfection, and reached maximal levels by 24 hours postinfection. The specific MAP kinase inhibitors decreased H. pylori‐induced iNOS and NO up‐regulation. After H. pylori infection of polarized epithelial cells, NO was released predominantly into the apical compartment, and IL‐8 was released predominantly into basolateral compartment. The addition of IFN‐γ to H. pylori‐infected polarized epithelial cells showed a synergistically higher apical and basolateral NO release. Conclusion. These results suggest that apical NO production mediated by MAP kinase in H. pylori‐infected gastric epithelial cells may influence the bacteria and basolateral production of NO and IL‐8 may play a role in the tissue inflammation.     

Expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase in the porcine oocyte and its possible function

The present study was designed to investigate the localization of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) in porcine oocytes and its possible function during in vitro development. RT-PCR and immunoblotting analyses revealed the presence of eNOS in the oocytes prepared from small follicles, with an amplified product of 456 bp and an apparent mol wt of 130 kDa, respectively. The synthesis of oocyte NO was suppressed during a 72-h culture of cumulus-oocyte complexes in the presence of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), but not luteinizing hormone (LH). However, the decrease in NO synthesis did not result from the levels of eNOS mRNA and its protein, as revealed by analyses of RT-PCR and Western blot analysis, suggesting that expression of oocyte eNOS is not dependent upon gonadotropin stimulation. In proliferated cumulus cells, LH receptor mRNA expression was detected after a 48-h culture with FSH, as revealed by RT-PCR analysis. mRNA expression was inhibited by an NO-releasing agent (S-nitroso-N-acetyl-DL-penicillamine) after an additional 24-h culture. These results suggest that oocytes may release eNOS-derived NO as a signal for somatic cells to steadily suppress the development of cumulus cells, if not FSH stimulation. Conversely, the synthesis of NO is suppressed during the action of FSH on the cumulus cells with no changes in eNOS expression.     

A possible mechanism for the apocynin-induced nitric oxide accumulation in plants

Nitric oxide (NO) is a small, ubiquitous bioactive molecule, postulated as a broad spectrum anti-stress compound. The NADPH oxidase inhibitor apocynin induces the accumulation of endogenous NO in leaves of maize seedlings through a nitric oxide synthase (NOS)-like activity, and confers an augmented tolerance to UV-B-induced oxidative damage. Here we propose a mechanism for the apocynininduced NO increase in plants. NOS catalyzes the oxidation of arginine to citrulline and NO. It is suggested that apocynin inhibits arginase, the enzyme that hydrolyzes L-arginine to urea and L-ornithine, increasing the arginine availability for arginine-dependent NO synthesis. Superoxide (O₂⁻) is a strong NO scavenger due to its high reactivity with NO to give peroxynitrite (ONOO⁻). Superoxide is mainly produced by plant NADPH oxidase (pNOX). Inhibition of pNOX by apocynin at relatively high NO concentration, could reduces the formation of O₂⁻ and ONOO⁻, increasing the availability of a huge amount of NO. We consider apocynin as a very attractive compound for studying NO-regulated processes in plants since it can replace the use of NO donors and overcome the subsequent technical problems.Key words: apocynin, nitric oxide, NO, UV-B, oxidative stress, nitric oxide synthase, NOSNO is a small, highly diffusible atmospheric gas and a ubiquitous bioactive molecule, proposed as a broad spectrum anti-stress compound.¹ Because NO is a reactive gas with a short halflife in air, the vast majority of NO research in living organisms has involved application of NO donors. Floryszak and co workers² argue that although treating plant tissue with NO donors is a simple methodological approach, it has yielded some technical problems because the process of donor decomposition depends on numerous external factors. For instance, the mostly used NO donor, sodium nitropruside (SNP), is extremely photosensitive and its degradation is promoted also by oxygen and temperature.³ Nonreductive decomposition of S-nitrosothiols as S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) releases NO, but it is dependent on light, temperature and pH.⁴It was reported that the steady-state level of NO is increased by apocynin in human endothelial cells.^5,6 Apocynin (4-hydroxy-3-methoxyacetophenone,acetovanillone, CAS 498-02-2) is a methoxysubstituted catechol originally extracted from the roots of Picrorrhiza kurroa, a small perennial herb that grows in the Himalayas. Extracts of P. kurroa are used in traditional medicine for treating diseases associated with chronic inflammation.^7,8We have recently demonstrated that apocynin induces the dose-dependent accumulation of NO in leaves of maize seedlings through a nitric oxide synthase (NOS)-like activity. This NO production is bioactive and antioxidant since it confers an augmented tolerance to UV-B induced oxidative stress. Therefore, the use of apocynin as an alternative approach to study NO functionality in plants has been proposed.⁹ Here it is postulated that the apocynin-induced NO increase in plants is due to the confluence of at least two effects: the inhibition of arginase and NADPH oxidase.     

哺乳动物卵巢中的一氧化氮对卵巢功能的调节作用

一氧化氮（NO）是一种在生物体内具有双重作用的无机自由基,其在生殖活动中的作用逐渐受到人们的关注,而成为生殖生物学家研究的新领域。卵巢是雌性动物的重要器官,而NO在卵巢生理中起着多方面的调节作用,本文着重介绍NO在卵巢中的表达、卵泡发育、甾体激素生成、卵母细胞成熟、排卵,以及黄本的形成和退化等方面的研究进展。     

Autonomic regulation of pacemaker activity: role of heart nitric oxide synthases

In autonomic-blocked rats treated with NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 7.5 mg/kg), heart rate increased 18% and mean arterial pressure increased 48%. Thyroidectomy, along with autonomic blockade, hampered the chronotropic response but did not modify the effect on blood pressure. After 150 min of autonomic blockade, the experimental end point, total nitric oxide (NO) production by heart NO synthases (NOS) decreased 61%: from 54 to 21 nmol NO.min-1.g heart-1. Mitochondrial NOS (mtNOS) and sarcoplasmic reticulum endothelial NOS activities decreased 74% and 52%, respectively. Mitochondria isolated from whole heart showed a well-coupled oxidative phosphorylation with high respiratory control and ADP-to-O ratios, decreased mtNOS activity (55-60%), and decreased mtNOS protein expression (70%). Immunohistochemistry with anti-inducible NOS antibody linked to gold particles localized mtNOS at the inner mitochondrial membranes. Histochemical right atrial NOS (NADPH-diaphorase) decreased 55% after heart denervation. The effects of autonomic denervation on the NO system were partially prevented by thyroidectomy performed simultaneously with autonomic blockade. Western blot analysis indicated a very rapid mtNOS protein turnover (half time=120 min) with a process of protein expression that was upregulated by thyroidectomy and a degradation process that was downregulated by the autonomic nervous system. The observations suggest that NO-mediated pathways contribute to pacemaker heart activity, likely through the NO steady-state levels in the right atrium and the whole heart.     

Flow-dependent regulation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase: role of protein kinases

Vascular endothelial cells are directly and continuously exposed to fluid shear stress generated by blood flow. Shear stress regulates endothelial structure and function by controlling expression of mechanosensitive genes and production of vasoactive factors such as nitric oxide (NO). Though it is well known that shear stress stimulates NO production from endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear and controversial. Shear-induced production of NO involves Ca²⁺/calmodulin-independent mechanisms, including phosphorylation of eNOS at several sites and its interaction with other proteins, including caveolin and heat shock protein-90. There have been conflicting results as to which protein kinases—protein kinase A, protein kinase B (Akt), other Ser/Thr protein kinases, or tyrosine kinases—are responsible for shear-dependent eNOS regulation. The functional significance of each phosphorylation site is still unclear. We have attempted to summarize the current status of understanding in shear-dependent eNOS regulation. shear stress; nitric oxide; endothelial cells; protein kinases     

Effect of blocking of glutamatergic inputs to the striatum on regulation of extracellular dopamine level in the striatum by theN. accumbens

Investigation on awake rats of the Sprague-Dawley line, involving intrabrain dialysis in combination with radioenzymatic analysis of dopamine level, demonstrated that intrastriatal applications by the dialysis perfusion of diethyl glutamate (0.1 mM), a wide spectrum-action blocker of excitatory amino acid receptors, prevents, whereas applications of D,L-2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid or kinurenate, blockers of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors (in the same concentrations), do not prevent an increase in the dopamine level in the extracellular space of the dorsal striatum, caused by application of haloperidol (1.0 mM) to then. accumbens.The findings lead to the assumption that participation of the glutamatergic inputs to the straitum in the transmission of tonic inhibitory effects of then. accumbens to the striatal dopaminergic system is mediated by non-NMDA type receptors.Neirofiziologiya/Neurophysiology, Vol. 25, No. 4, pp. 302–306, July–August, 1993.     

Antifibrotic role of inducible nitric oxide synthase.

Long-term treatment in rats with l-NAME, an isoform-non-specific inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), leads to fibrosis of the heart and kidney, suggesting that nitric oxide (NO) may play a role in preventing tissue fibrosis. In this process, a likely target of NO is the quenching of reactive oxygen species (ROS) through peroxynitrite formation, and one possible source for this NO is inducible NOS (iNOS). Using Peyronie's disease (PD) tissue from both human specimens and from a rat model of PD as the source of fibrotic tissue, we investigated if NO derived from iNOS could act as such an antifibrogenic defense mechanism by determining whether: (a) tunical ROS and iNOS are increased in PD; and (b) the long-term inhibition of iNOS activity decreases the NO/ROS balance in the tunica albuginea thereby promoting collagen deposition. It was determined that in the human PD plaque, iNOS mRNA and protein, ROS, collagen, and the peroxynitrite marker, nitrotyrosine, were all increased in comparison to the normal tunica. In the rat model of PD, the fibrotic plaque also showed significant increases in iNOS mRNA and protein, nitrotyrosine, ROS as measured by heme oxygenase-1, and collagen when compared with the normal control tunica. When a selective inhibitor of iNOS, L-NIL, was given to rats with the PD-like plaque, this resulted in a decrease in nitrotyrosine levels but intensified ROS levels and collagen deposition. These data demonstrate that: (a) iNOS induction occurs in both the human and rat PD fibrotic plaque; and (b) that the NO derived from iNOS appears to counteract ROS formation and collagen deposition. Because the inhibition of iNOS activity leads to a decrease in the NO/ROS ratio, thereby favoring the development of fibrosis, it is proposed that iNOS induction in this tissue may be a protective mechanism against fibrosis and abnormal wound healing.     

Mitochondrial production of hydrogen peroxide regulation by nitric oxide and the role of ubisemiquinone

Mitochondria are considered the major cellular site for hydrogen peroxide production, a process that is kinetically controlled by the availability of oxygen and nitric oxide to cytochrome oxidase and of ADP to F1-ATPase. The multisite regulation of mitochondrial respiration and energy-transducing pathways support a critical regulatory role of mitochondrion in cell signaling pathways. The cellular steady-state levels of hydrogen peroxide and the role of mitochondria in maintaining these levels are reviewed.