title: Prolonged suppression of brain nitric oxide synthase activity by 7-nitroindazole protects against cerebral hypoxic-ischemic injury in neonatal rat.
abstract: Nitric oxide mediates glutamate-induced excitotoxicity associated with cerebral hypoxia-ischemia through production in the brain by several isoforms of nitric oxide synthase (NOS). We examined the influence of the selective neuronal NOS inhibitor, 7-nitroindazole (7-NI), on brain NOS activity and its neuroprotective effects against cerebral hypoxic-ischemic injury in the postnatal day (PND) 7 rat. In the first set of experiments, 7-NI (50 mg/kg) administered intraperitoneally (i.p.) transiently inhibited NOS activity to 40% below the vehicle control level at 1 h after injection (P<0.001, analysis of variance (ANOVA)). In contrast, 7-NI (100 mg/kg, i.p.) inhibited NOS activity to 56% below the control level at 1 h with prolonged suppression of NOS activity at 3, 6, 9 and 12 h after injection. Two-factor ANOVA revealed an overall effect on NOS activity of 7-NI treatment (P<0.001) and time after injection (P<0.001). In the second set of experiments, 7-NI (50, 100 mg/kg) or an equal volume of vehicle was administered after unilateral carotid artery ligation, but 30 min before hypoxia in PND 7 rats. 7-NI (100 mg/kg) significantly protected against cerebral hypoxic-ischemic injury (100 mg/kg of 7-NI, 1.7+/-1.0% damage; control, 8.7+/-1.6%,P<0.05). 7-NI administered 15 min after cerebral hypoxia-ischemia was not neuroprotective. The data suggest that the protective effect of 7-NI is dose dependent, and is related to the duration of suppressed NOS activity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, and The Kennedy Krieger Research Institute, 707 North Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ishida
authors.forename: W H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Trescher
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Lange
authors.forename: M V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Johnston
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000378:metabolism; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000503:physiopathology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D020925:Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000503:physiopathology; D007191:Indazoles / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009498:Neurotoxins / Q000378:metabolism; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism*; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D007191:Indazoles; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D009498:Neurotoxins; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; C080122:7-nitroindazole