Inducible nitric oxide synthase in renal transplantation.
The importance of the endothelial isoform of nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) has been well established. Endothelium-derived nitric oxide has been shown to be essential for vascular homeostasis and modulation of eNOS has thus become a target in prevention of cardiovascular disease. The role of the inducible form of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in vascular biology, however, is less clear. Classically, iNOS has been regarded as an enzyme that produces nmolar amounts of the nitric oxide radical, thereby leading to cellular damage. More recent data, however, have shown that the iNOS can be a superoxide, peroxynitrite as well as a nitric oxide-producing enzyme, while the biological effects of iNOS probably depend upon the sort of radical species released by the enzyme as well as the anti-oxidant capacity of the cellular microenvironment of the enzyme. This brief review discusses these aspects in relation to renal transplantation.
Joles
Jaap A
JA
Department of Nephrology and Hypertension, University Medical Center Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 100, 3584 CX Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Vos
Ingrid H
IH
Gröne
Hermann-Josef
HJ
Rabelink
Ton J
TJ
D000208:Acute Disease; D000818:Animals; D001120:Arginine / Q000494:pharmacology; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase / Q000502:physiology*; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous
D001120:Arginine; C496319:NOS2 protein, human; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II