Understanding How H‐NOX (Heme Nitric Oxide/Oxygen) Domain Works Needs First Clarifying How Diatomic Gases Are Relocated Inside This Sensing Protein. A Molecular‐Mechanics Approach

H‐NOX (Heme Nitric Oxide/Oxygen) domain has widespread occurrence, either standalone or associated with functional proteins, sending signals for functions that span from modulating vasodilation and neurotransmission with humans to competition and symbiosis with bacteria. Understanding how H‐NOX works, and possibly intervening on degeneration for health purposes, needs first clarifying how diatomic gases are relocated through this protein in relation to the deeply buried heme. To this end, a biased form of molecular dynamics, i.e., Random Accelaration Molecular Dynamics (RAMD), is used by applying a randomly oriented tiny force to heme‐dissociated CO of Nostoc sp. H‐NOX, while changing randomly the direction of the force, if CO travels less than specified for the evaluated block. The result is that a large area of the protein, comprising amino acids from serine 44 to leucine 67 along two adjacent helices, offers a broad portal to CO from the surrounding medium to the deeply buried heme. Most traffic is concentrated through a channel lined by tyrosine 49, valine 52, and leucine 67. This modifies the picture drawn from mapping Xe cavities on pressurizing Nostoc sp. H‐NOX with Xe gas. What is the main pathway with Xe‐cavity mapping becomes a minor pathway with RAMD, and vice versa. The reason is that the fluctuating protein under MD creates clefts for CO slipping through, as it is expected to occur in nature.     

Nitric oxide synthase and interferon-gamma receptor immunoreactivities in relation to ascending spinal pathways to thalamus,hypothalamus, and the periaqueductal grey in the rat

The retrograde tracer fluoro-gold was injected into the periaqueductal grey, thalamus or hypothalamus, and spinal cord sections were processed for neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) immunohistochemistry to investigate the relationships of nNOS immunoreactive, and spinomesencephalic, spinothalamic and spinohypothalamic projection neurones. In addition, in the lateral spinal nucleus the relationship between spinomesencephalic, -thalamic and -hypothalamic projection neurones, and nNOS and interferon-gamma receptor immunoreactive structures was investigated at the lumbar level. No single retrogradely labelled spinomesencephalic, -thalamic or -hypothalamic neurone showed nNOS immunoreactivity. In the lateral spinal nucleus, however, many fluoro-gold-labelled neurones were closely apposed by both nNOS and interferon-gamma receptor immunoreactive structures, especially prominent in the hypothalamic injection cases. This study gave no evidence for nNOS immunoreactivity in spinal neurones projecting to the periaqueductal grey, thalamus or hypothalamus, but suggests that in the lateral spinal nucleus such neurones are contacted by both nNOS- and interferon-gamma receptor-containing axon terminals.     

Biomarkers of some pulmonary diseases in exhaled breath

Analysis of various biomarkers in exhaled breath allows completely non-invasive monitoring of inflammation and oxidative stress in the respiratory tract in inflammatory lung diseases, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis (CF), bronchiectasis and interstitial lung diseases. The technique is simple to perform, may be repeated frequently, and can be applied to children, including neonates, and patients with severe disease in whom more invasive procedures are not possible. Several volatile chemicals can be measured in the breath (nitric oxide, carbon monoxide, ammonia), and many non-volatile molecules (mediators, oxidation and nitration products, proteins) may be measured in exhaled breath condensate. Exhaled breath analysis may be used to quantify inflammation and oxidative stress in the respiratory tract, in differential diagnosis of airway disease and in the monitoring of therapy. Most progress has been made with exhaled nitric oxide (NO), which is increased in atopic asthma, is correlated with other inflammatory indices and is reduced by treatment with corticosteroids and antileukotrienes, but not (β₂-agonists. In contrast, exhaled NO is normal in COPD, reduced in CF and diagnostically low in primary ciliary dyskinesia. Exhaled carbon monoxide (CO) is increased in asthma, COPD and CF. Increased concentrations of 8-isoprostane, hydrogen peroxide, nitrite and 3-nitrotyrosine are found in exhaled breath condensate in inflammatory lung diseases. Furthermore, increased levels of lipid mediators are found in these diseases, with a differential pattern depending on the nature of the disease process. In the future it is likely that smaller and more sensitive analysers will extend the discriminatory value of exhaled breath analysis and that these techniques may be available to diagnose and monitor respiratory diseases in the general practice and home setting.     

TNP-470 inhibits oxidative stress, nitric oxide production and nuclear factor kappa B activation in a rat model of hepatocellular carcinoma

The objective of this study is to determine if treatment with the angiogenesis inhibitor TNP-470 results in impairment of oxidative stress, inhibition of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) activation and decrease of nitric oxide production in an experimental model of rat hepatocarcinogenesis. Tumour was induced by diethylnitrosamine and promoted by two-thirds hepatectomy plus acetaminofluorene administration. Experiments were carried out at 28 weeks after initiating the treatment. TNP-470 was administered at 30 mg/kg, three times per week from 20 to 28 weeks. Carcinomatous tissue growing outside dysplastic nodules and a marked expression of placental glutathione S-transferase were detected in rats with induced carcinogenesis. Liver concentrations of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, reduced glutathione (GSH) and glutathione disulfide (GSSG) were significantly higher than those of controls and there was a significant increase in the GSSG/GSH ratio. Tumour growth was accompanied by augmented expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase, activation of (NF-κB) and proteolysis of IkappaB. All these effects were absent in animals receiving TNP-470. Our results indicate that TNP-470 inhibits oxidative stress, nitric oxide production and NF-κB activation induced by experimental hepatocarcinogenesis. These changes would contribute to the beneficial effects of TNP-470 in cancer treatment.     

Nitric oxide and blood pressure in mice lacking extracellular-superoxide dismutase

Nitric oxide is a major vasorelaxant and regulator of the blood pressure. The blood vessels contain several active sources of the superoxide radical, which reacts avidly with nitric oxide to form noxious peroxynitrite. There are large amounts of extracellular-superoxide dismutase (EC-SOD) in the vascular wall. To evaluate the importance of EC-SOD for the physiology of nitric oxide, here we studied the blood pressure in mice lacking the enzyme. In chronically instrumented non-anaesthetized mice there was no difference in mean arterial blood pressure between wild-type controls and EC-SOD mutants. Extensive inhibition of nitric oxide synthases with N -monomethyl- l -arginine however resulted in a larger increase in blood pressure, and infusion of the nitric oxide donor nitrosoglutathione caused less reduction in blood pressure in the EC-SOD null mice. We interpret the alterations to be caused by a moderately increased consumption of nitric oxide by the superoxide radical in the EC-SOD null mice. One role of EC-SOD may be to preserve nitric oxide, a function that should be particularly important in vascular pathologies, in which large increases in superoxide formation have been documented.     

Effects of trientine,a metal chelator,on defective endothelium-dependent relaxation in the mesenteric vasculature of diabetic rats

Diabetes mellitus compromises endothelium-dependent relaxation of blood vessels. This has been linked to the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which neutralise nitric oxide (NO) and interfere with vasodilator function. Experiments using chelators have emphasised the importance of ROS produced by transition metal catalysed reactions. However, particularly for the small arteries and arterioles that control microcirculatory blood flow, NO is not the only endothelium-derived mediator; endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF) has a major role. EDHF-mediated vasodilation is severely curtailed by diabetes; however, little information exists on the underlying pathophysiology. Deficits in the EDHF system, alone or in combination with the NO system, are crucial for the development of diabetic microvascular complications. To further elucidate the mechanisms involved, the aim was to examine the effects of diabetes and preventive and intervention chelator therapy with trientine on a preparation that has well-defined NO and EDHF-mediated responses, the rat mesenteric vascular bed. In phenylephrine-preconstricted preparations, maximum vasodilation to acetylcholine was reduced by 35 and 44% after 4 and 8 weeks of streptozotocin-induced diabetes, respectively. Trientine treatment over the first 4 weeks gave 72% protection; intervention therapy over the final 4 weeks prevented deterioration and corrected the initial deficit by 68%. These responses depend on both NO and EDHF. When the latter mechanism was isolated by NO synthase inhibition, diabetic deficits of 53.4 (4 weeks) and 65.4% (8 weeks) were revealed, that were 65% prevented and 50% corrected by trientine treatment. Neither diabetes nor trientine altered vascular smooth muscle responses to the NO donor, sodium nitroprusside (SNP). Thus, the data suggest that metal catalysed ROS production makes a substantial contribution to defects in both the EDHF and NO endothelial mechanisms in diabetes, which has therapeutic implications for microvascular complications.     

Involvement of Nitric Oxide in Spatial Memory Deficits in Status Epilepticus Rats

Status epilepticus (SE) is associated with a significant risk of cognitive impairment, and the increase of nitric oxide (NO) releasing has been reported during SE. We investigated the effects of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) inhibitor, 7-nitroindazole (7-NI) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) inhibitor, aminoguanidine (AG), on spatial performance of rats in the Morris water maze. Treatment with 7-NI, but not with AG, improved the performance of rats after SE not only in acquisition of the task but also in probe test. Furthermore, the level of SE-induced malondialdehyde (MDA), end product of lipid peroxidation, was significantly decreased only in animals receiving 7-NI injection. Taken together, the results of the present study provided evidence that the NO pathway contributed to oxidative stress after SE, and nNOS/NO pathway may underlie one of the potential mechanisms contributing to SE-induced spatial memory deficits.     

Synergism between hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S) and nitric oxide (NO) in vasorelaxation induced by stonustoxin (SNTX), a lethal and hypotensive protein factor isolated from stonefish Synanceja horrida venom

Stonustoxin (SNTX) is a 148 kDa, dimeric, hypotensive and lethal protein factor isolated from the venom of the stonefish Synanceja horrida. SNTX (10-320 ng/ml) progressively causes relaxation of endothelium-intact, phenylephrine (PE)-precontracted rat thoracic aortic rings. The SNTX-induced vasorelaxation was inhibited by L-N(G)-nitro arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), suggesting that nitric oxide (NO) contributes to the SNTX-induced response. Interestingly, D, L-proparglyglycine (PAG) and beta-cyano-L-alanine (BCA), irreversible and competitive inhibitors of cystathionine-gamma-lyase (CSE) respectively, also inhibited SNTX-induced vasorelaxation, indicating that H(2)S may also play a part in the effect of SNTX. The combined use of L-NAME with PAG or BCA showed that H(2)S and NO act synergistically in effecting SNTX-induced vasorelaxation.     

有机物料对白浆土金属氧化物形态转化和迁移的影响及其肥力效应

通过土柱淋溶试验研究了牧草粉腐解物对白浆土Ｆｅ、Ｍｎ、Ａｌ氧化物形态转化及剖面迁移的影响及其对土壤Ｐ素形态转化和有效性的影响．结果表明,加有机物料淋溶使土壤ＤＴＰＡ提取态或有机络合Ｆｅ、Ｍｎ、Ａｌ氧化物含量显著上升;有效磷含量也极显著上升,主要在于铝磷和铁磷含量的增加;白浆层土壤中有效态磷及无机磷各形态均随着腐熟牧草粉用量的加大而极显著地升高,表层土壤中有效态磷、铝磷、铁磷的变化也与加入的腐熟牧草粉极显著正相关．土壤有效态磷、铝磷、铁磷与ＤＴＰＡ提取态和有机络合态Ｆｅ、Ｍｎ显著或极显著相关,但在表层土壤磷素各形态与ＤＴＰＡ及焦磷酸钠提取的Ａｌ呈极显著负相关,而白浆层却是极显著正相关．     

Comparison of Macrophage Antimicrobial Responses Induced by Type II Interferons of the Goldfish (Carassius auratus L.)

Unlike mammals, bony fish have two type II interferons, IFNγ and IFNγrel, whose pro-inflammatory functions have not been fully characterized. To elucidate the distinct roles of these type II interferons of bony fish, we examined the effects of recombinant goldfish (rg) IFNγ and IFNγrel on the macrophage antimicrobial responses, immune gene expression, and their signaling pathways. Our findings indicate that rgIFNγ and rgIFNγrel possess unique capacities to mediate each of the above processes. Q-PCR analysis revealed similar expression of both cytokines in tissues and immune cell populations of the goldfish, although IFNγ mRNA levels were generally higher in most tissues and cell types. Whereas rgIFNγ had long-lasting effects on the priming of goldfish monocyte ROI production, the rgIFNγrel had relatively short-lived ROI priming potential and eventually down-regulated the priming of ROI production induced by rgIFNγ or rgTNFα2. Whereas rgIFNγ induced relatively modest phagocytic and nitric oxide responses of goldfish macrophages, rgIFNγrel induced significantly higher phagocytosis, iNOSA and iNOSB gene expression and nitric oxide production compared with rgIFNγ. The rgIFNγ and rgIFNγrel induced different gene expression profiles in goldfish monocytes. These differences included significantly higher induction of TNFα2, CXCL8, ceruloplasmin, and interferon regulatory factor (IRFs) expression after activation of monocytes with rgIFNγrel. The rgIFNγrel was more abundant in whole cell lysates compared with rgIFNγ. Both cytokines induced the phosphorylation of Stat1, while the nuclear localization of Stat1 was only observed following treatment of monocytes with rgIFNγ. Our findings suggest the presence of functional segregation of the induction of macrophage antimicrobial functions by type II interferons of bony fish.