title: Structure and function of nitric oxide synthases.
abstract: Nitric oxide (NO), which accounts for the biological activity of endothelium-derived relaxing factor, is now thought to play a variety of roles in the nervous system and in immunologic reactions. NO is synthesized from L-arginine by nitric oxide synthase (NOS). There are three isoforms of NOS; type I (neuronal), type II (inducible), and type III (endothelial). The fundamental structure of the three isoforms, which contain calmodulin-, FMN-, FAD-, and NADPH-binding domains, is the same. Calmodulin is already bound to inducible NOS without requiring Ca2+, while the others are Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent. Endothelial NOS is bound to membranes by N-myristoylation, while the other isoforms are soluble. The human endothelial NOS gene has been cloned. It has several highly repetitive regions which could provide potential sites for DNA polymorphism. It might be of interest to examine the relationship between such polymorphism and cardiovascular disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto University, Japan.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hattori
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sase
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Eizawa
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kosuga
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aoyama
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sasayama
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kawai
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yui
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miyahara
mesh_terms: D000594:Amino Acid Oxidoreductases / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000502:physiology; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D009569:Nitric Oxide; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D000594:Amino Acid Oxidoreductases