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Soluble Guanylyl Cyclase: The Nitric Oxide Receptor

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Signal Transduction: Pathways, Mechanisms and Diseases

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Abstract

Nitric oxide (NO) plays a significant role in vasodilation, platelet aggregation, neurotransmission and many other physiological processes, and in most of these cases it works through activation of soluble guanylyl cyclase and elevation of cyclic GMP concentration. Soluble guanylyl cyclase is a heterodimeric protein made up of one α and one β subunit. The β subunit has one molecule of heme attached to it through a histidine residue. NO activates the enzyme by binding to the heme iron and weakening its bond to the histidine. Carbon monoxide activates the enzyme only marginally, but can activate to the level achieved by NO in the presence of allosteric regulators such as YC-1. Upon dissociation of NO, the enzyme becomes deactivated. In some cells, exposure to NO may result in rapid desensitization of the enzyme, thus preventing undesirable consequences of continued, unabated cyclic GMP production.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, 48309, USA

    Ari Sitaramayya

  2. Pharmakologie und Toxikologie, Medizinische Fakultät, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, 44780, Bochum, Germany

    Doris Koesling

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  1. Doris Koesling
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  2. Ari Sitaramayya
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Correspondence to Ari Sitaramayya .

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  1. Eye Research Institute, Oakland University, DHE 423, Rochester, 48309, USA

    Ari Sitaramayya

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Koesling, D., Sitaramayya, A. (2010). Soluble Guanylyl Cyclase: The Nitric Oxide Receptor. In: Sitaramayya, A. (eds) Signal Transduction: Pathways, Mechanisms and Diseases. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-02112-1_18

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