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Ultrastructural immunogold localization of nitric oxide synthase isoforms in rat and human eosinophils

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An Erratum to this article was published on 18 May 2010

Abstract

The involvement of nitric oxide (NO) as both pro and anti-inflammatory agent in allergic, airway inflammatory, and asthmatic diseases and the active participation of eosinophils in such ailments have been previously suggested. NO modulates eosinophil number, migration and their survival. The microenvironment of NO synthase (NOS) in subcellular organelles determines its rate and efficiency of catalysis, which in turn influences NO generation at distinct intracellular locales. The present study was undertaken to assess the intracellular distribution of NOS isoforms by transmission electron microscopy followed by morphometric analysis in human and rat eosinophils. Rat eosinophils were explored in parallel, and since they are widely used as model systems to mimic human diseases, a comparative study on NOS localization patterns might provide useful information in deciphering NO role in diverse aspects of eosinophil-related inflammatory ailments. The results demonstrated predominance of neuronal NOS (nNOS) in the eosinophilic granules and even distribution of inducible NOS (iNOS) and nNOS in the cytoplasm and nucleus of human eosinophils. In rat eosinophils, however, iNOS was mainly localized in the eosinophilic granules and nucleus, while nNOS was distributed evenly in cytoplasm and nucleus. Distribution of endothelial NOS (eNOS) in eosinophils was scanty. Differences in NOS isoforms and their localization in human and rat cells might have implications in differential mode of catalysis and functional contribution to eosinophil physiology and pathology, warranting detailed investigations. The present study highlights species-specific differences in the relative abundance and distribution pattern of NOS isoforms in rat and human eosinophils, which should be considered cautiously in interpreting the rat data to humans.

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Acknowledgements

Authors gratefully acknowledge the expert technical assistance provided by Mrs. A Arya and Mrs. M Srivastava.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cardiovascular Pharmacology Unit, Central Drug Research Institute (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research), Lucknow, 226001, India

    Rohit Saluja, Rashmi Saini & Madhu Dikshit

  2. Electron Microscopy Unit, Central Drug Research Institute (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research), Lucknow, 226001, India

    Kalyan Mitra & Virendra K. Bajpai

Authors
  1. Rohit Saluja
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  2. Rashmi Saini
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  3. Kalyan Mitra
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  4. Virendra K. Bajpai
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  5. Madhu Dikshit
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Madhu Dikshit.

Additional information

This study was supported by a financial grant to M. Dikshit from the Department of Biotechnology, New Delhi, India, and an award of research fellowships to R. Saluja and R. Saini from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, India.

An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00441-010-0991-7

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Saluja, R., Saini, R., Mitra, K. et al. Ultrastructural immunogold localization of nitric oxide synthase isoforms in rat and human eosinophils. Cell Tissue Res 340, 381–388 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-010-0947-y

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