title: Functional inhibition of constitutive nitric oxide synthase in a rat model of sepsis.
abstract: Induction of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression is likely important in the pathogenesis of sepsis. However, the sepsis-mediated induction of iNOS is associated with a decrease in constitutive NO synthase (cNOS) activity (which is reversible following acute but not chronic sepsis). Whether this decreased cNOS activity is due to functional inhibition of cNOS by the high concentrations of NO produced by iNOS or to downregulation of cNOS expression is not clear. Thus, we tested the hypothesis that sepsis produces a reversible iNOS/NO-mediated inhibition of cNOS activity. Using a rat cecal ligation and perforation (CLP) model of sepsis, we examined the time course of the changes in iNOS and cNOS activities in lung and thoracic aortae. Reversibility of the sepsis-induced decrease in cNOS activity was assessed in vitro by enzyme activity determination following selective inhibition of iNOS. iNOS and endothelial cNOS protein concentrations were determined by Western blotting. In all septic tissues, cNOS activity was depressed at 6, 12, 24, and 48 hours post-CLP. Inhibition of the increased iNOS activity with aminoguanidine, in vitro, partially restored cNOS activity following acute (6-12 hours) but not chronic sepsis (24-48 hours post-CLP). Consistent with the irreversible depression of cNOS activities in tissues following chronic sepsis, endothelial NOS protein concentrations declined progressively during the time course of sepsis. We have demonstrated the restoration of cNOS activity following in vitro inhibition of iNOS, early, and the downregulation of endothelial NOS, later, in a rat CLP model of sepsis. This suggests that further study is required before iNOS-selective inhibition can be considered in human sepsis.
authors.affiliation: A. C. Burton Vascular Biology Laboratory, Department of Medicine, University of Western Ontario and London Health Sciences Centre, London, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Jeremy A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.forename: Sanjay
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mehta
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Duggan
authors.forename: Aurelia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bihari
authors.forename: David G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: McCormack
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001774:Blood Chemical Analysis; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D015536:Down-Regulation; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008163:Luminescent Measurements; D008297:Male; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase / Q000032:analysis / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000378:metabolism*; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II; D011336:Probability; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012016:Reference Values; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D018805:Sepsis / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II; C496318:Nos2 protein, rat