Nitric Oxide (NO) and the Nervous System Essay -- Medicine Biology Res

Nitric Oxide (NO) and the Nervous System Better known as an environmental hazard, nitric oxide (NO) is produced in combustion engines and contributes to smog and acid rain and has been implicated in the catalytic destruction of the ozone layer (Lancaster;1992). Though NO is the bad-boy of the environment, it’s roles in the body are extremely diverse and in some instances can be deleterious or beneficial depending on the circumstances. NO has been connected with immune function, control of blood pressure and hypertension, impotence and penile erection, septic shock, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, and macrophage mediated destruction of oncogenic cells (Young;1993, Stroh;1992). However, its activities in the nervous system may be the most exciting discovery yet for this eclectic molecule (Koshland;1992). Due to NO’s radical structure, it is highly reactive and very short-lived within the body (6-15 sec.) making its detection difficult (Lancaster;1992); as such, it can therefore be synthesized only on demand since radicals are known to disrupt cellular homeostasis. NO is small and uncharged and it rapidly diffuses through cellular membranes from its site of synthesis making it in ideal intercellular paracrine-like messenger or poison (Lancaster;1992). In the body, NO reacts with redox metals such as copper, manganese, or the iron heme-like protein centers, and molecular oxygen forming nitrites and nitrates, the latter constituting the principal manner in which NO is inactivated in vivo (Snyder;1992). The enzyme which synthesizes NO, nitric oxide synthase (NOS), has been cloned and structurally resembles cytochrome P-450 reductase, possessing many sequence homologies and the same physical sites for binding of identic... ... in Cells. American Scientist, 80:248-259, May/June 1992. Murray, R. K., D. K. Granner, P. A. Mayes, and V. W. Rodwell. Nitric Oxide is the Endothelium Derived Relaxation Factor and is Also an Important Compound in the Nervous System. Harper’s Biochemistry, pp 657-658, Appleton & Lange, USA, 1993. Schuman, E. M. and D. V. Madison. A Requirement for the Intercellular Messenger Nitric Oxide in Lone Term Potentiation. Science, 254:1503-1506, Dec. 6, 1991. Snyder, S. H. and D. S. Bredt. Biological Roles of Nitric Oxide. Scientific American, 266:68-71+, May 1992. Snyder, S. H. Nitric Oxide: First in a New Class of Neurotransmitters. Science, 257:494-496, July 24, 1992. Stroh, M. The Root of Impotence: Does Nitric Oxide Hold the Key. Science News, 142:10-11. July 4, 1992. Young, S. The Body’s Vital Poison. New Scientist, 137:36-40, March 13, 1993. Nitric Oxide (NO) and the Nervous System Essay -- Medicine Biology Res Nitric Oxide (NO) and the Nervous System Better known as an environmental hazard, nitric oxide (NO) is produced in combustion engines and contributes to smog and acid rain and has been implicated in the catalytic destruction of the ozone layer (Lancaster;1992). Though NO is the bad-boy of the environment, it’s roles in the body are extremely diverse and in some instances can be deleterious or beneficial depending on the circumstances. NO has been connected with immune function, control of blood pressure and hypertension, impotence and penile erection, septic shock, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, and macrophage mediated destruction of oncogenic cells (Young;1993, Stroh;1992). However, its activities in the nervous system may be the most exciting discovery yet for this eclectic molecule (Koshland;1992). Due to NO’s radical structure, it is highly reactive and very short-lived within the body (6-15 sec.) making its detection difficult (Lancaster;1992); as such, it can therefore be synthesized only on demand since radicals are known to disrupt cellular homeostasis. NO is small and uncharged and it rapidly diffuses through cellular membranes from its site of synthesis making it in ideal intercellular paracrine-like messenger or poison (Lancaster;1992). In the body, NO reacts with redox metals such as copper, manganese, or the iron heme-like protein centers, and molecular oxygen forming nitrites and nitrates, the latter constituting the principal manner in which NO is inactivated in vivo (Snyder;1992). The enzyme which synthesizes NO, nitric oxide synthase (NOS), has been cloned and structurally resembles cytochrome P-450 reductase, possessing many sequence homologies and the same physical sites for binding of identic... ... in Cells. American Scientist, 80:248-259, May/June 1992. Murray, R. K., D. K. Granner, P. A. Mayes, and V. W. Rodwell. Nitric Oxide is the Endothelium Derived Relaxation Factor and is Also an Important Compound in the Nervous System. Harper’s Biochemistry, pp 657-658, Appleton & Lange, USA, 1993. Schuman, E. M. and D. V. Madison. A Requirement for the Intercellular Messenger Nitric Oxide in Lone Term Potentiation. Science, 254:1503-1506, Dec. 6, 1991. Snyder, S. H. and D. S. Bredt. Biological Roles of Nitric Oxide. Scientific American, 266:68-71+, May 1992. Snyder, S. H. Nitric Oxide: First in a New Class of Neurotransmitters. Science, 257:494-496, July 24, 1992. Stroh, M. The Root of Impotence: Does Nitric Oxide Hold the Key. Science News, 142:10-11. July 4, 1992. Young, S. The Body’s Vital Poison. New Scientist, 137:36-40, March 13, 1993.