Targeted disruption of the nitric oxide synthase 2 gene protects against ischaemia/reperfusion injury to skeletal muscle

To provide definitive insight into the complicated roles of the nitric oxide synthase (NOS) enzymes in ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury of skeletal muscle, experiments were undertaken in mice with targeted disruption of the inducible NOS (NOS-2 KO) isoform, compared with the wild-type mouse strain. The degree of I/R injury in the NOS-2 KO mice was attenuated relative to that in the wild-type strain. After 70 min of ischaemia (24 h reperfusion), nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) staining of skeletal muscle showed significant necrosis (40%) in wild-type mice, whilst in NOS-2 KO mice, ischaemia could be prolonged to 90 min before significant necrosis (38%) was apparent. Specific enzyme activities of the mitochondrial respiratory chain enzymes, measured in skeletal muscle homogenates, suggested that direct inhibition of the enzymes is not causal in the I/R injury. Immunohistological examination of skeletal muscle for NOS-2 showed its induction selectively in mast cells. In vitro experiments using bone marrow-derived mast cells showed that NOS-2 induction was associated with increased degranulation of mast cells. These findings suggest that NO generated by induction of NOS-2 has a deleterious effect in I/R injury of skeletal muscle and that NO exerts its damaging effect through factors released by degranulation of mast cells.     

重组人促红细胞生成素后处理缺血/再灌注前后骨骼肌诱导型一氧化氮合酶及一氧化氮的变化

背景：促红细胞生成素对包括心脑在内的多种组织器官的缺血/再灌注损伤有保护作用。 目的：观察重组人促红细胞生成素后处理对家兔后肢腓肠肌缺血/再灌注前后诱导型一氧化氮合酶、一氧化氮和超微结构的影响。 方法：将家兔随机分为空白对照组、模型组和重组人促红细胞生成素组,后2组建立兔左后肢腓肠肌缺血/再灌注实验模型,其中重组人促红细胞生成素组在兔左后肢缺血2 h后静脉注射重组人促红细胞生成素。 结果与结论：再灌注后4,12 h,重组人促红细胞生成素组诱导型一氧化氮合酶表达水平及一氧化氮浓度增高幅度较模型组低(P < 0.05)。电镜下腓肠肌细胞超微结构显示,模型组内皮细胞膜溶解,肿胀明显,肌纤维内线粒体水肿。重组人促红细胞生成素组肌纤维损伤较轻,肌节内Z线及肌节内各带结构基本正常,大部分线粒体结构正常,显示重组人促红细胞生成素组超微结构损伤程度明显轻于模型组。结果证实,重组人促红细胞生成素后处理可通过抑制诱导型一氧化氮合酶蛋白的表达,减少再灌注后过量一氧化氮生成,改善骨骼肌缺血/再灌注损伤。     

Autologous transplantation of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells attenuates cerebral ischemia and reperfusion injury through suppressing apoptosis and inducible nitric oxide synthase

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether autologous transplantation of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADMSCs) has a neuroprotective effect against cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in rats and to explore the possible underlying mechanisms. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned into the sham, I/R injury model (I/R), and model plus autologous transplantation of ADMSCs (ADMSC) groups. Cerebral I/R injury was induced by 2 h middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) followed by reperfusion for 24 h. Rats in the I/R and ADMSC groups were intravenously injected with culture medium and ADMSCs (2.0x10(6)), respectively, at the onset of reperfusion and 12 h after reperfusion. Cerebral infarct volume was detected by triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining. The histopathological changes and neuronal apoptosis in the ischemic penumbra were evaluated with H&E staining and the TUNEL assay, respectively. The nitric oxide (NO) content, caspase-3 activity and the Bax/Bcl-2 protein ratio were also measured. Moreover, the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression in the ischemic regions of rats was determined by immunohistochemical staining, quantitative real-time RT-PCR and western blot analysis. We found that autologous transplantation of ADMSCs significantly reduced the cerebral infarct volume, improved the I/R injury-induced brain damages and inhibited the neuronal apoptosis. ADMSC implantation also decreased caspase-3 activity and the Bax/Bcl-2 protein ratio, and markedly downregulated the expression of iNOS and thus prevented NO release in response to cerebral I/R injury. Taken together, our results demonstrated that autologous transplantation of ADMSCs can protect the brain against cerebral I/R injury via the inhibition of neuronal apoptosis and iNOS expression.     

Changes in nitric oxide and inducible nitric oxide synthase following stretch-induced injury to the tibialis anterior muscle of rabbit

This study investigated the changes in nitric oxide (NO) together with inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) content and enzyme activity at 0, 4, 12, 24, and 48 h following acute muscle stretch injury. A single stretch injury was induced to the tibialis anterior muscle of 30 male New Zealand white rabbits (n = 6 at each time point). Injured and uninjured contralateral sham-operated muscles were harvested and analyzed for NO levels, iNOS content, and iNOS activity at each time point. Furthermore, three animals were used to estimate baseline NO levels and iNOS activity. There was a progressive reduction in NO content in the injured and the sham-operated muscles up to 24 h postoperation and stretch injury (p < 0.05). At 48 h postinjury, however, NO levels were 146% higher in injured muscles than in sham-operated muscles (p < 0.05). iNOS protein content was higher at 4 h and 48 h in injured versus shamoperated muscles (p < 0.05). Similarly, iNOS activity was higher at 4 h (p < 0.05) and at 48 h (p < 0.01) in injured versus sham-operated muscles. These results suggest that NO may play an active role during the postinjury recovery of skeletal muscle modulated by iNOS expression.     

Microenvironmental regulation of inducible nitric oxide synthase expression and nitric oxide production in mouse bone marrow-derived mast cells

In addition to its well-known role in relaxation of vascular smooth muscle, NO modulates immune responses in a concentration- and location-specific manner. For MC, it is well accepted that exogenous NO regulates their function. However, there are inconsistencies in the literature of whether MC express NOS and make NO. MC progenitors mature in peripheral tissues, but the factors that influence MC maturation and their specific phenotype, such as whether they express NOS, are not well understood. To study microenvironmental conditions that could be "permissive" for NOS expression, we cultured BMMC in various conditions--BMMC(IL-3), BMMC(SCF/IL-3), or BMMC(SCF/IL-4)-for >3 weeks and examined NOS expression. We detected Nos2 mRNA in BMMC(SCF/IL-4) but not BMMC(IL-3) or BMMC(SCF/IL-3). After stimulation with IFN-γ and/or LPS, NOS2 expression and NO production were detected in BMMC(SCF/IL-4) but rarely detected in BMMC cultured with other conditions. Confocal microscopic analysis showed that NOS2 expression induced by IFN-γ colocalized in CD117(+) BMMC. NO production, after activation with IFN-γ and LPS in BMMC(SCF/IL-4), was abrogated by pretreatment with the NOS2-specific inhibitor. In addition to NOS2 expression, BMMC(SCF/IL-4) were distinguished from BMMC(IL-3) in heparin and MMCP expression. Thus, MC progenitors that develop in SCF + IL-4 can be induced to express NOS2 after receiving appropriate signals, such as IFN-γ, and subsequently produce NO. Microenvironmental conditions during their development can influence whether MC are capable of NOS expression and of NO production.     

一氧化氮途径在大鼠肝移植缺血再灌注损伤中的作用

本实验应用三袖套法大鼠原位肝移植模型,探讨一氧化氮途径在大鼠原位肝移植缺血再灌注损伤中对移植肝的功能作用及可能机制。加强一氧化氮途径能显著延长受体的存活率,改善肝功能及抑制肿瘤坏死因子（Ｔｈ卜ａ）的合成与表达;而抑制ＮＯ合成则能明显降低术后受体存活率、加剧肝功能恶化,上调ＴＮＦ－ａ及Ⅰ型细胞间粘附分子（ＩＣＡＭ－１）的表达。提示：ＮＯ途径很可能是肝移植缺血再灌注损伤的关键因素。     

NO对心脏缺血再灌注损伤的影响及其在缺血预处理中的作用

目的:明确NO对心脏缺血再灌注(IR)损伤的影响及其在缺血预处理(IP)保护机制中的作用,同时观察NO对缺血再灌注凋亡的影响。方法:使用在体大鼠心脏缺血再灌注模型,实验共分为6组:IR组,IR+L-arg组,IR+L-NAME组,IP组,IP+L-arg组,IP+L-NAME组,观察分析心功能、梗塞面积、中性粒细胞(PMN)计数、心肌髓过氧化物酶(MPO)活性、TUNEL阳性细胞计数等指标。结果:L-arg,L-NAME均明显减轻了IR引起的PMN浸润和心肌细胞凋亡。缺血预处理前给予NO前体L-arg增加NO生成或使用L-NAME阻断NO生成对缺血预处理保护作用无明显影响。结论:缺血前组予L-arg增加内源性NO生成可对心肌缺血再灌注发挥保护作用;组予L-NAME可能通过减少再灌注其ONOO^-的生成而减轻心肌损伤和凋亡。     

神经干细胞缺氧/复氧损伤中的低氧诱导因子1α和诱导型一氧化氮合酶

背景：在缺氧状态可诱导机体产生缺氧诱导因子,而诱导型一氧化氮合酶表达产生的一氧化氮(NO)可抑制低氧诱导因子1α的活性。 目的：探索低氧诱导因子1α、诱导型一氧化氮合酶与神经干细胞的低氧/复氧损伤关系。 方法：无菌条件下将出生24 h以内的Wistar大鼠处死,并分离大鼠海马组织,制作成脑组织的细胞悬液,分离培养神经干细胞后,将细胞分为常氧组、低氧组及低氧-复氧组,后两组以150 μmol/L氯化钴溶液制备低氧模型,而后低氧-复氧组细胞在低氧4 h时复氧。 结果与结论：低氧条件下,神经干细胞凋亡数量及细胞中低氧诱导因子1α和诱导型一氧化氮合酶 mRNA表达水平增加;而缺氧-复氧组中凋亡神经干细胞数量高于缺氧组,但低氧诱导因子1α和诱导型一氧化氮合酶mRNA表达水平低于缺氧组。说明这两种因子参与细胞低氧损伤过程。中国组织工程研究杂志出版内容重点：干细胞;骨髓干细胞;造血干细胞;脂肪干细胞;肿瘤干细胞;胚胎干细胞;脐带脐血干细胞;干细胞诱导;干细胞分化;组织工程全文链接：     

Overexpression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase in endothelial cells is protective against ischemia-reperfusion injury in mouse skeletal muscle

Microvascular injury has been proposed to be a main cause of ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. The roles of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS)-derived NO, a key regulator of vascular function, in I/R injury are incompletely understood. We used transgenic mice overexpressing eNOS in endothelial cells (eNOS-Tg) and their littermates wild-type mice (WT) to investigate the roles of eNOS in I/R injury in skeletal muscle. Superoxide levels in the affected muscles were reduced by approximately 50% in eNOS-Tg compared with WT during reperfusion. In WT, the disassembly of endothelial junctional proteins seen in the early period of reperfusion was recovered in the later phase. These findings were correlated with the increased vascular permeability in vivo. In contrast, eNOS-Tg maintained the endothelial junction assembly as well as vascular permeability during reperfusion. Leukocyte extravasation into tissue and up-regulated expression of adhesion molecules in the reperfused vessels were significantly inhibited in eNOS-Tg. Tissue viability of the affected muscle was decreased in WT time-dependently after reperfusion, whereas eNOS-Tg showed no significant reduction. NOS inhibition completely reversed these protective effects of eNOS overexpression in I/R injury. Thus, eNOS overexpression appears to prevent the I/R injury in skeletal muscle by maintaining vascular integrity.     

大鼠额叶皮质损害后诱导型iNOS阳性细胞的变化

目的：一氧化氮在脑内的许多生功能中起重要作用,并参与脑损伤的病理生理过程。本研究旨在探讨实验性脑损伤后的NOS阳性细胞的来源及成份。方法：利用机械油吸法制成大鼠额叶皮质损伤动物模型,应用NADPH-d组织化学及GFAP免疫组化法观察损伤后1、3、7、14、21、30及60d皮质损害区NOS阳性细胞的类型和变化。结果：损害后1d即见皮质损害区底部和两侧nNOS阳性细胞增加,损害底部出现诱导型胶质细胞,尤以胼胝体中更为密集。这种反应3-7d时逐渐增强,2周时最明显,以后随时间推移及损害的修复而降低,研究发现部分iNOS阳性细胞与GFAP者共存,提示系反应性胶质细胞,未见eNOS阳性细胞上调现象。结论：皮质受损时,出现2种不同表型的NOS阳性细胞且上调,即出现诱导型神经元nNOS和诱导型iNOS胶质细胞。究其来源各不相同,但均能合成NO,NO主要集中在损伤部位的周围。     

内皮型、诱导型一氧化氮合酶在乳腺癌中的表达

目的 :研究内皮型一氧化氮合酶 (eNOS)、诱导型一氧化氮合酶 (iNOS)在乳癌中表达及与淋巴结转移的关系。方法 :采用免疫组化S P法检测 60例乳癌中eNOS和iNOS的表达。结果 :eNOS和iNOS阳性在乳癌中表达率分别为 75 0 %和71 7%。在淋巴结转移组和无淋巴结转移组中eNOS阳性表达率分别为 66 7%和 83 3 % ,两组间差异无统计学意义 (χ2 =2 2 2 ,P >0 0 5) ,而iNOS在淋巴结转移和无转移组中阳性表达率分别为 53 3 %和 90 0 % ,两组间差异有统计学意义 (χ2 =9 93 ,P <0 0 1 )。结论 :内皮型、诱导型一氧化氮合酶在乳腺癌中高表达 ;iNOS的表达与乳腺癌的淋巴转移相关     

Pressure-related activation of inducible nitric oxide synthase

Pressure-related activation of inducible nitric oxide synthase     

Blastomyces dermatitidis yeast cells inhibit nitric oxide production by alveolar macrophage inducible nitric oxide synthase

The ability of pathogens to evade host antimicrobial mechanisms is crucial to their virulence. The dimorphic fungal pathogen Blastomyces dermatitidis can infect immunocompetent patients, producing a primary pulmonary infection that can later disseminate to other organs. B. dermatitidis possesses a remarkable ability to resist killing by alveolar macrophages. To date, no mechanism to explain this resistance has been described. Here, we focus on macrophage production of the toxic molecule nitric oxide as a potential target of subversion by B. dermatitidis yeast cells. We report that B. dermatitidis yeast cells reduce nitric oxide levels in the supernatants of activated alveolar macrophages. This reduction is not due to detoxification of nitric oxide, but rather to suppression of macrophage nitric oxide production. We show that B. dermatitidis yeast cells do not block upregulation of macrophage inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression or limit iNOS access to its arginine substrate. Instead, B. dermatitidis yeast cells appear to inhibit iNOS enzymatic activity. Further investigation into the genetic basis of this potential virulence mechanism could lead to the identification of novel antifungal drug targets.     

Antiinflammatory properties of inducible nitric oxide synthase in acute hyperoxic lung injury

The objective of this study was to determine whether endogenous nitric oxide (NO), specifically the inducible NO synthase isoform (iNOS: NOS II), reduces or amplifies lung injury in mice breathing at a high oxygen tension. Previous studies have shown that exogenous (inhaled) NO protects against hyperoxia-induced lung injury, and that endogenous NO derived from iNOS inhibits leukocyte recruitment and protects against lung injury induced by lipopolysaccharide. In the present study, hyperoxia (> 98% O(2) for 72 h) induced acute lung injury in both wild-type and iNOS-deficient mice as determined by elevated albumin and lactate dehydrogenase levels in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and by increased extravascular lung water. Lung injury was greater in iNOS-deficient mice than in wild-type mice and was associated with an increased number of polymorphonuclear leukocytes in BALF. iNOS messenger RNA expression levels increased in the lungs of wild-type hyperoxic mice. Nitrotyrosine, a marker of reactive NO species, was expressed in both wild-type and iNOS-deficient mice in hyperoxia, indicating an iNOS-independent pathway for protein nitration. We conclude that iNOS is capable of reducing pulmonary leukocyte accumulation and lung injury. The data indicate that iNOS induction serves as a protective mechanism to minimize the effects of acute exposure to hyperoxia.     

Nitric oxide synthase and nitric oxide production in in vivo-derived mast cells

Nitric oxide (NO) is a potent mediator synthesized by a variety of cells involved in inflammatory reactions. We investigated the expression of NO synthase (NOS) in rat peritoneal mast cells (PMC). Small amounts of eNOS mRNA were detected basally, whereas neither mRNA for iNOS nor nNOS was detected in unstimulated PMC. Following stimulation by antigen, interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), or anti-CD8 antibody, PMC up-regulated iNOS mRNA expression. In situ RT-PCR confirmed that iNOS mRNA originated from PMC. Production of iNOS protein was confirmed in stimulated PMC by immunohistochemistry. Upon stimulation with antigen, IFN-gamma, or anti-CD8, nitrite production was increased significantly (8.4+/-0.6, 7.6+/-0.9, and 6.6+/-0.9 microM/2x10(5) cells/48 h NO2-, respectively; P<0.01), whereas unstimulated PMC released 2.1 +/- 0.3 microM/2 x 10(5) cells/48 h NO2-. These findings demonstrate that in vivo-derived PMC transcribe and translate mRNA for NOS and produce NO.     

Murine epidermal Langerhans cells do not express inducible nitric oxide synthase

In Leishmania-infected macrophages (MΦ), the formation of reactive nitrogen intermediates by the inducible isoform of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) is critical for the killing of the intracellular parasites. We have recently shown that, in addition to MΦ, epidermal Langerhans cells (LC) can phagocytose Leishmania major, but they do not allow parasite replication. Therefore, we analyzed whether LC and MΦ display the same leishmanicidal effector mechanism. Unlike MΦ, stimulation of unselected epidermal cells with interferon-γ/lipopoly-saccharide did not lead to the release of nitric oxide (NO), and inhibition of NO production had no effect on the rate of infection of LC. iNOS mRNA was clearly detectable in MΦ as well as unselected epidermal cells (the majority of which consists of keratinocytes) after stimulation with different cytokines. In contrast, pure LC obtained by single-cell picking from cytokine-activated or L. major-infected epidermal cells did not express iNOS mRNA. Addition of the NO donor S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine to already-infected LC did not alter their rate of infection, indicating that LC do not utilize exogenous NO for the control of intracellular Leishmania. These results suggest that in the L. major-infected skin, activated MΦ and keratinocytes, but not LC have the ability to express iNOS activity. Therefore, an as yet unidentified, NO-independent mechanism appears to be responsible for the control of parasite replication in LC.