title: The endothelial cell nitric oxide synthase: is it really constitutively expressed?
abstract: During the past two years, the enzyme responsible for production of endothelium-derived nitric oxide, the endothelial cell NO synthase (ecNOS) has been cloned and the gene encoding this enzyme isolated, cloned and its structure characterized. This research has provided direction for a variety of studies of regulation of the ecNOS. Several features of the ecNOS are compatible with a constitutively expressed, poorly regulated gene, including absence of a TATA box and numerous SP-1 sites. The promoter also contains a number of putative binding domains which suggest that it may be regulated by a variety of transcription factor mediated signals. In this review we will discuss evidence to support the concept that the ecNOS is a constitutively expressed gene subject to a modest degree of regulation by important physiological influences.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Emory University of Medicine, Atlanta, GA.
authors.forename: D G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Harrison
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Venema
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Arnal
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ohara
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sayegh
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Murphy
mesh_terms: D000594:Amino Acid Oxidoreductases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000201:enzymology*; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D006801:Humans; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic
chemical_list: D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D000594:Amino Acid Oxidoreductases