Louis Ignarro

Abstract

Circulation Research is pleased to inaugurate “Profiles in Cardiovascular Science” with this interview with Lou Ignarro, the son of poor Italian immigrants, who won the 1998 Nobel Prize. Lou is one of my favorite people, a wonderful combination of scientific prowess, human richness, genuineness, and unassumingness, that is both refreshing and rare among medical researchers. Perhaps the most poignant part of the interview is the end, when Lou states that neither of his parents ever attended school; that their son rose to become a Nobel laureate is not only extraordinary but also deeply inspiring. This should be a powerful lesson in motivation for all of us. — —Roberto Bolli In the 1970s and 1980s, a series of discoveries made independently by Louis Ignarro, Ferid Murad, and Robert Furchgott established that the highly reactive molecule nitric oxide (NO) was a somewhat unexpected yet important physiological mediator of blood vessel relaxation. First, in 1977, Murad showed that nitric oxide could increase intracellular levels of cyclic GMP,1 a signaling molecule previously shown to increase when blood pressure dropped.2 Then, in 1979, Ignarro showed that nitric oxide could relax vascular smooth muscles.3 Lastly, in 1980, Furchgott discovered a substance released from endothelial cells that relaxes blood vessels4 that was later discovered by Ignarro to be nitric oxide.5 This body of work led to the three researchers being jointly awarded the Nobel Prize. The work of Ignarro and colleagues has established nitric oxide as a key biological messenger. It is now recognized that nitric oxide is a paracrine and autocrine signaling molecule that regulates almost every biological process, including vascular homeostasis, cardiac metabolism, neurotransmission, carcinogenesis, immunity, and stem cell function. Changes in nitric oxide production have been found to be associated with the development of atherosclerosis, diabetes, and hypertension. Several …