NO-generating Compounds Research Articles

Differential effects of nitric oxide gas and nitric oxide donors on depolarization-induced release of [ 3H]norepinephrine from rat hippocampal slices

The NO-generating compounds sodium nitroprusside (NP), nitroglycerin (NTG), and isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN) all significantly inhibited N- methyl- d-aspartate (NMDA)-stimulated release of tritiated norepinephrine ([ 3H]NA) from preloaded hippocampal slices of adult male Sprague-Dawley rats with IC 50 's of 114 μM, 1.2 mM, and 1.7 mM respectively. NTG and ISDN also inhibited KCl-stimulated release, while NP had no significant effect on KCl-stimulated release. Although these results suggest that the inhibitory effects of these compounds were mediated by release of NO, NTG and ISDN did not generate detectable levels of NO, and iron-cyanide complexes similar in structure to NP but lacking NO also inhibited release. In contrast, both S- nitroso-N- acetyl- d , l-penicillamine (SNAP) and authentic NO gas significantly enhanced NMDA-stimulated release of [ 3H]NA (EC 50's: 331 and 3.4 μ M respectively). This enhancement was not selective for NMDA-stimulated release, since both SNAP and NO potentiated KCl-stimulated release as well. In addition, NO gas significantly enhanced NMDA-stimulated release of tritiated dopamine ([ 3H]DA) from striatal slices and [ 3H]NA from cortical and cerebellar slices. Analogs of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) had no significant effect on NMDA-stimulated transmitter release, suggesting that the observed increase in release is via a cGMP-independent mechanism. While exogenous NO enhanced both NMDA- and KCl-stimulated neurotransmitter release, it appears that endogenous NO does not play a role in this depolarization-induced release since NO synthase inhibitors did not significantly reduce NMDA-stimulated [ 3H]NA release. The possibility remains that endogenous NO could modulate neurotransmitter release in other circumstances.

Modulation of ion channels in rod photoreceptors by nitric oxide

Subcellular compartments in the outer retina of the larval tiger salamander were identified as likely sites of production of nitric oxide (NO), a recently recognized intercellular messenger. NADPH diaphorase histochemistry and NO synthase immunocytochemistry labeled photoreceptor ellipsoids and the distal regions of bipolar and glial cells apposing photoreceptor inner segments, suggesting a role for NO in visual processing in the outer retina. We investigated the actions of NO on several rod photoreceptor ion channels. Application of the NO-generating compound S-nitrosocysteine increased Ca 2+ channel current and a voltage-independent conductance, but had no affect on voltage-gated K + or nonspecific cation currents. Given the steep relation between voltage-dependent Ca 2+ influx and photoreceptor synaptic output, these results indicate that NO could modulate transmission of the photoresponse to second order cells.

Nitric oxide inhibits indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase activity in interferon-gamma primed mononuclear phagocytes.

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) and nitric oxide synthase are part of the anti-tumor and antimicrobial activities of mononuclear phagocytes induced by interferon-gamma (IFN gamma). As IDO is a heme-containing enzyme and NO, the product of nitric oxide synthase-initiated arginine degradation, is a regulator of heme enzymes, we investigated whether NO is capable of modulating IDO activity in IFN gamma-primed mononuclear phagocytes. Authentic NO gas or the NO-generating compound, diethylamine dinitric oxide adduct, dose-dependently inhibited IDO activity in cell lysates prepared from IFN gamma-primed human peripheral blood mononuclear cells, as assessed by the ascorbate/methylene blue assay for IDO. In contrast, neither nitrite nor nitrate affected IDO activity. Exposure of intact IFN gamma-primed human peripheral blood mononuclear cells or monocyte-derived macrophages to any of the NO-generating compounds, sodium nitroprusside, glyceryl trinitrate, S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine, or diethylamine dinitric oxide adduct, resulted in inhibition of both the consumption of tryptophan from and formation of its metabolite, kynurenine, in the culture medium. The observed inhibition of IDO activity was not due to toxicity of the NO generators and was abrogated by the co-addition of oxyhemoglobin, an antagonist of NO function. Comparable concentrations of nitrite or nitrate did not inhibit IDO activity in intact cells. In contrast to human cells, addition of IFN gamma to murine macrophages, cultured in complete RPMI 1640 medium, readily induced nitric oxide synthase. Others have reported that such treatment does not induce IDO activity in these cells. However, induction of IDO activity was observed in murine macrophages when the synthesis of reactive nitrogen species was inhibited, by using arginine-free medium and/or the nitric oxide synthesis inhibitor, NG-monomethyl-L-arginine. Together, these results demonstrate that both exogenous and endogenous NO inhibit IDO activity and that oxidative arginine and tryptophan metabolism in IFN gamma-primed mononuclear phagocytes are functionally related. Our study thereby provides an insight into how these cells may regulate some of their antimicrobial and anti-tumor activities.

Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase is required for the transport of nitric oxide in platelets.

Nitric oxide (NO) or NO-generating compounds like sodium nitroprusside (SNP) increase cellular levels of cGMP and produce S-nitrosylation of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase [GAPDH; D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate:NAD+ oxidoreductase (phosphorylating), EC 1.2.1.12]. In search of a reagent that could discriminate between these two effects, we used the sesquiterpene antibiotic koningic acid, which binds to GAPDH at the Cys-149 of the active site. Koningic acid inhibited basal and sodium nitroprusside-stimulated NAD-dependent covalent modification of purified rabbit muscle GAPDH in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, we tested the effect of koningic acid on human platelets. Approximately 90% of GAPDH is present in the cytosol of human platelets, and the exposure of platelet cytosol to koningic acid inhibited GAPDH activity, while the soluble guanylyl cyclase (basal and sodium nitroprusside-stimulated) activity remained unaltered. Pretreatment of intact platelets with koningic acid slowed the rate of aggregation induced by a submaximal concentration of thrombin. In addition, the antibiotic also inhibited the cGMP increases triggered by SNP, S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP), and 3-morpholinosyndomidine (SIN-1) but failed to prevent an increase in cGMP caused by nitrosylated albumin. Under the same conditions, koningic acid also inhibited basal and SNP- SNAP-, and SIN-1-stimulated NAD-dependent modification of GAPDH and its enzymatic activity. These results suggest that the mechanism of delivery of NO from SNP, SNAP, and SIN-1 to platelets may require the active form of GAPDH. When NO is delivered by nitrosylated albumin, active GAPDH was not necessary.

Biosynthesis of nitric oxide activates iron regulatory factor in macrophages.

Biosynthesis of nitric oxide (NO) from L-arginine modulates activity of iron-dependent enzymes, including mitochondrial acontiase, an [Fe-S] protein. We examined the effect of NO on the activity of iron regulatory factor (IRF), a cytoplasmic protein which modulates both ferritin mRNA translation and transferrin receptor mRNA stability by binding to specific mRNA sequences called iron responsive elements (IREs). Murine macrophages were activated with interferon-gamma and lipopolysaccharide to induce NO synthase activity and cultured in the presence or absence of NG-substituted analogues of L-arginine which served as selective inhibitors of NO synthesis. Measurement of the nitrite concentration in the culture medium was taken as an index of NO production. Mitochondria-free cytosols were then prepared and aconitase activity as well as IRE binding activity and induction of IRE binding activity were correlated and depended on NO synthesis after IFN-gamma and/or LPS stimulation. Authentic NO gas as well as the NO-generating compound 3-morpholinosydnonimine (SIN-1) also conversely modulated aconitase and IRE binding activities of purified recombinant IRF. These results provide evidence that endogenously produced NO may modulate the post-transcriptional regulation of genes involved in iron homeostasis and support the hypothesis that the [Fe-S] cluster of IRF mediates iron-dependent regulation.

Activation of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells by nitric oxide-generating compounds.

Recent work in this laboratory has identified immune-stimulatory properties of the oxidant hemin. In this study, we examined whether the nitrogen-based oxidant nitric oxide (NO) had inductive effects on human lymphocytes. We found that the NO-generating compounds sodium nitroprusside and S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine rapidly enhanced the rate of glucose transport in resting human PBMC. In addition, NF-kappa B binding activity was induced by these agents as was the secretion of TNF-alpha. The data suggest that a cGMP-independent mechanism is involved as the cell permeant cGMP analogue, 8-Br-cGMP, had no effect in eliciting these inductive events. Activation of lymphocytes by these NO-generating compounds may be mediated through the protein tyrosine phosphorylation signal transduction pathway. We found that membrane-associated protein tyrosine phosphatase activity was enhanced in PBMC treated with sodium nitroprusside or S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine and that the src family protein tyrosine kinase p56lck was activated in these cells. Inasmuch as p56lck activity is negatively controlled by tyrosine phosphorylation, its activation may be related to the enhancement of protein tyrosine phosphatase activity. 8-Br-cGMP had no effect on these enzymes. Taken together, these data suggest that NO may have immune-stimulatory properties and may signal through a hitherto undescribed cGMP-independent pathway.

Nitric oxide-induced S-nitrosylation of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase inhibits enzymatic activity and increases endogenous ADP-ribosylation.

Using conditions that produced chronic inflammation in rat liver, we were able to find a correlation between induction of nitric oxide production and inhibition of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH; EC 1.2.1.12). This enzyme is a tetramer composed of identical M(r) 37,000 subunits. The tetramer contains 16 thiol groups, four of which are essential for enzymatic activity. Our information indicates that four thiol groups are S-nitrosylated by exposure to authentic nitric oxide (NO) gas. Furthermore, NO decreased GAPDH activity while increasing its auto-ADP-ribosylation. Reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and dithiothreitol are required for the S-nitrosylation of GAPDH caused by the NO-generating compound sodium nitroprusside. Our results suggests that a new and important action of nitric oxide on cells is the S-nitrosylation and inactivation of GAPDH. S-Nitrosylation of GAPDH may be a key covalent modification of multiple regulatory consequences in chronic liver inflammation.

Scrum-pox caused by herpes simplex virus.

The present study investigates the role of nitric oxide (NO) in the deletion of TCR-stimulated double-positive (DP) thymocytes. Fetal thymi expressed mRNA for an inducible type of NO synthase (iNOS). The levels of iNOS mRNA became maximal around gestation day 18 with a decline after birth. Administration of anti-CD3 mAb to fetal thymus organ culture (FTOC) or young mice resulted in enhanced expression of mRNAs for iNOS as well as IFN-gamma. Immunohistochemical analyses revealed that iNOS was produced in the corticomedullary junction and medulla. The effects of iNOS-induced NO on anti-CD3-unstimulated or anti-CD3-stimulated thymocytes were examined by culturing them in the presence or absence of a NO-generating compound. Stimulation of DP thymocytes with anti-CD3 alone induced the generation of CD4(low)CD8(low) thymocytes. The subsequent exposure of these anti-CD3-stimulated thymocytes to NO promoted down-regulation of CD4 and CD8 expression. The recovery of viable DP cells was considerably reduced compared with stimulation with anti-CD3 or NO alone. Even in a viable DP population, high incidences of DNA strand breaks were detected in the CD4(low)CD8(low) compartment. In contrast to DP cells, the recovery of viable single-positive cells was not decreased but rather slightly enhanced by treatment with anti-CD3 and/or NO. The recovery of anti-CD3-stimulated thymocytes were also reduced when cultured on the thymic stromal monolayer with the capacity to produce NO upon IFN-gamma stimulation. These results indicate that NO, which is generated in association with TCR stimulation in the thymus, functions to induce deletion of DP thymocytes, especially when their TCR is stimulated.

Soluble bovine adrenal cortex guanylate cyclase: effect of sodium nitroprusside, nitrosamines, and hydrophobic ligands on activity, substrate specificity and cation requirement.

Soluble guanylate cyclase in the 100,000×g supernatant fraction from bovine adrenal cortex homogenates can be activated by the NO-generating compounds sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and N-methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG), a highly potent carcinogen. The enzyme shows also enhanced activity upon treatment with another group of activators: non-ionic detergents, phospholipase A, and unsaturated fatty acids.