title: Transferrin induces nitric oxide synthase mRNA in rat cultured aortic smooth muscle cells.
abstract: Incubation with holo-transferrin, but not apo-transferrin, induced the nitrite accumulation in the culture medium of rat aortic smooth muscle cells concentration- and time-dependently, which occurred after a lag period of 6 hours. The accumulation of nitrite was inhibited by N omega-nitro-L-arginine and cycloheximide, but not by calmidazolium. Ferric or ferrous iron had no effect on the accumulation. In reverse transcription-coupled polymerase chain reaction analysis, one amplified fragment (580 bp) corresponding to the inducible form of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) mRNA was expressed after incubation with holo-transferrin for 10 hours. These results suggest that holo-transferrin activates expression of iNOS mRNA in rat aortic smooth muscle cells accompanied by nitric oxide accumulation via a pathway dependent on L-arginine in the culture medium.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Gifu University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takenaka
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sakai
authors.forename: N F
authors.initials: NF
authors.lastname: Kassell
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamada
mesh_terms: D000594:Amino Acid Oxidoreductases / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D001011:Aorta; D001120:Arginine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000494:pharmacology; D001483:Base Sequence; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003470:Culture Media; D003513:Cycloheximide / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000201:enzymology*; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D009573:Nitrites / Q000378:metabolism; D019335:Nitroarginine; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014168:Transferrin / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media; D009573:Nitrites; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D014168:Transferrin; D019335:Nitroarginine; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D001120:Arginine; D003513:Cycloheximide; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D000594:Amino Acid Oxidoreductases; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase