title: What part of NO don't you understand? Some answers to the cardinal questions in nitric oxide biology.
abstract: Nitric oxide (NO) regulates biological processes through signaling mechanisms that exploit its unique biochemical properties as a free radical. For the last several decades, the key aspects of the chemical properties of NO relevant to biological systems have been defined, but it has been a challenge to assign these to specific cellular processes. Nevertheless, it is now clear that the high affinity of NO for transition metal centers, particularly iron, and the rapid reaction of NO with oxygen-derived free radicals can explain many of its biological and pathological properties. Emerging studies also highlight a growing importance of the secondary metabolites of NO-dependent reactions in the post-translational modification of key metabolic and signaling proteins. In this minireview, we emphasize the current understanding of the biochemistry of NO and place it in a biological context.
authors.affiliation: Center for Free Radical Biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama 35294-2180, USA.
authors.forename: Bradford G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.forename: Brian P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Dranka
authors.forename: Shannon M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Bailey
authors.forename: Jack R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Lancaster
authors.forename: Victor M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Darley-Usmar
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002319:Cardiovascular System / Q000378:metabolism; D005609:Free Radicals / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D011485:Protein Binding; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D005609:Free Radicals; D006454:Hemoglobins; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D007501:Iron
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