title: Nitric oxide signaling specificity--the heart of the problem.
abstract: Nitric oxide (NO) is a gaseous free radical that functions as an endogenous mediator in numerous tissues. Because NO is both reactive and highly diffusible, its formation must be tightly regulated to control its synthesis and to specify its signaling. Indeed, molecular studies of the NO synthase (NOS) family of enzymes have elaborated a variety of mechanisms, including protein interactions, lipid modifications and protein phosphorylation cascades that spatially and temporally control NO biosynthesis. These mechanisms determine both the upstream cellular signals that stimulate NO formation and the downstream molecular targets for NO. Understanding these cellular pathways that control NOS will help us to elucidate the functional roles of NO and provide novel strategies to treat diseases associated with NO abnormalities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine, 513 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94143-0444, USA. bredt@phy.ucsf.edu
authors.forename: David S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Bredt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002451:Cell Compartmentation / Q000502:physiology; D016189:Dystrophin / Q000378:metabolism; D005057:Eukaryotic Cells / Q000201:enzymology*; D006801:Humans; D009206:Myocardium / Q000201:enzymology; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase / Q000378:metabolism*; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000378:metabolism; D012039:Regional Blood Flow / Q000502:physiology; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D016189:Dystrophin; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase