Abstract
Nitric oxide (NO) is synthesized from the amino acid L-arginine (L-Arg) by two different types of NO synthase (NOS) (reviewed by Marietta, 1993, Knowles and Moncada 1994, Forstermann et al, 1994). The first type is represented by constitutive NOS, Ca++/calmodulin dependent enzymes which deliver NO for short periods in response to receptor activation or physical stimulation. This type of NOS proteins is derived from two different genes, nNOS and eNOS, and are found in the brain, vascular endothelium, platelets and the cortex and medulla of adrenal gland in human and rodent species. The second type of NOS activity is called inducible (iNOS) and appears to be Ca++ independent. However, calmodulin is found tightly associated with the protein and a calcium concentration lower than the baseline level existing in the cytosol is sufficient to keep it active (Cho et al., 1992). Once expressed, iNOS synthesizes NO for long periods. The induction of iNOS is very different in human versus rodent species and will be discussed in detail below.
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© 1995 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Felley-Bosco, E. (1995). Species Specificity at the Molecular Level: the Case of Nitric Oxide Synthases. In: Degen, G.H., Seiler, J.P., Bentley, P. (eds) Toxicology in Transition. Archives of Toxicology, vol 17. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-79451-3_31
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-79451-3_31
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