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Author

Louis J. Ignarro

Other affiliations: Boston University, Konkuk University, Linköping University  ...read more
Bio: Louis J. Ignarro is an academic researcher from University of California, Los Angeles. The author has contributed to research in topics: Nitric oxide & Nitric oxide synthase. The author has an hindex of 106, co-authored 335 publications receiving 46008 citations. Previous affiliations of Louis J. Ignarro include Boston University & Konkuk University.


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TL;DR: The vascular effects of EDRF released from perfused bovine intrapulmonary artery and vein were compared with the effects of NO delivered by superfusion over endothelium-denuded arterial and venous strips arranged in a cascade to determine whether nitric oxide (NO) is responsible for the vascular smooth muscle relaxation elicited by endothelia-derived relaxing factor (EDRF).
Abstract: The objective of this study was to determine whether nitric oxide (NO) is responsible for the vascular smooth muscle relaxation elicited by endothelium-derived relaxing factor (EDRF). EDRF is an unstable humoral substance released from artery and vein that mediates the action of endothelium-dependent vasodilators. NO is an unstable endothelium-independent vasodilator that is released from vasodilator drugs such as nitroprusside and glyceryl trinitrate. We have repeatedly observed that the actions of NO on vascular smooth muscle closely resemble those of EDRF. In the present study the vascular effects of EDRF released from perfused bovine intrapulmonary artery and vein were compared with the effects of NO delivered by superfusion over endothelium-denuded arterial and venous strips arranged in a cascade. EDRF was indistinguishable from NO in that both were labile (t1/2 = 3-5 sec), inactivated by pyrogallol or superoxide anion, stabilized by superoxide dismutase, and inhibited by oxyhemoglobin or potassium. Both EDRF and NO produced comparable increases in cyclic GMP accumulation in artery and vein, and this cyclic GMP accumulation was inhibited by pyrogallol, oxyhemoglobin, potassium, and methylene blue. EDRF was identified chemically as NO, or a labile nitroso species, by two procedures. First, like NO, EDRF released from freshly isolated aortic endothelial cells reacted with hemoglobin to yield nitrosylhemoglobin. Second, EDRF and NO each similarly promoted the diazotization of sulfanilic acid and yielded the same reaction product after coupling with N-(1-naphthyl)-ethylenediamine. Thus, EDRF released from artery and vein possesses identical biological and chemical properties as NO.

4,997 citations

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TL;DR: It is concluded that EDRF from artery and vein is either NO or a chemically related radical species, which possesses identical properties in their interactions with oxyhemoproteins.
Abstract: The objective of this study was to elucidate the close similarity in properties between endothelium-derived relaxing factor (EDRF) and nitric oxide radical (NO). Whenever possible, a comparison was also made between arterial and venous EDRF. In vascular relaxation experiments, acetylcholine and bradykinin were used as endothelium-dependent relaxants of isolated rings of bovine intrapulmonary artery and vein, respectively, and NO was used to relax endothelium-denuded rings. Oxyhemoglobin produced virtually identical concentration-dependent inhibitory effects on both endothelium-dependent and NO-elicited relaxation. Oxyhemoglobin and oxymyoglobin lowered cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) levels, increased tone in unrubbed artery and vein, and abolished the marked accumulation of vascular cGMP caused both by endothelium-dependent relaxants and by NO. The marked inhibitory effects of oxyhemoglobin on arterial and venous relaxant responses and cGMP accumulation as well as its contractile effects were abolished or reversed by carbon monoxide. These observations indicate that EDRF and NO possess identical properties in their interactions with oxyhemoproteins. Both EDRF from artery and vein and NO activated purified soluble guanylate cyclase by heme-dependent mechanisms, thereby revealing an additional similarity in heme interactions. Spectrophotometric analysis disclosed that the characteristic shift in the Soret peak for hemoglobin produced by NO was also produced by an endothelium-derived factor released from washed aortic endothelial cells by acetylcholine or A23187. Pyrogallol, via the action of superoxide anion, markedly inhibited the spectral shifts, relaxant effects, and cGMP accumulating actions produced by both EDRF and NO. Superoxide dismutase enhanced the relaxant and cGMP accumulating effects of both EDRF and NO. Thus, EDRF and NO are inactivated by superoxide in a closely similar manner. We conclude, therefore, that EDRF from artery and vein is either NO or a chemically related radical species.

1,185 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Article de synthese traitant de la pharmacologie de l'oxyde nitrique, du facteur EDRF and du GMP cyclique dans les vaisseaux sanguins and les thrombocytes, de la formation, de the liberation and du metabolisme de l’endothelium derived NO (EDNO).
Abstract: Article de synthese traitant de la pharmacologie de l'oxyde nitrique, du facteur EDRF et du GMP cyclique dans les vaisseaux sanguins et les thrombocytes, de l'isolation et de l'identification du facteur EDRF comme de l'oxyde nitrique, et de la formation, de la liberation et du metabolisme de l'endothelium derived NO (EDNO)

1,005 citations


Cited by
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TL;DR: Attention is focussed on the ROS/RNS-linked pathogenesis of cancer, cardiovascular disease, atherosclerosis, hypertension, ischemia/reperfusion injury, diabetes mellitus, neurodegenerative diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, and ageing.

12,240 citations

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TL;DR: There is growing evidence that aging involves, in addition, progressive changes in free radical-mediated regulatory processes that result in altered gene expression.
Abstract: At high concentrations, free radicals and radical-derived, nonradical reactive species are hazardous for living organisms and damage all major cellular constituents. At moderate concentrations, how...

9,131 citations

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TL;DR: The discovery that mammalian cells generate nitric oxide, a gas previously considered to be merely an atmospheric pollutant, is providing important information about many biologic processes.
Abstract: The discovery that mammalian cells generate nitric oxide, a gas previously considered to be merely an atmospheric pollutant, is providing important information about many biologic processes. Nitric oxide is synthesized from the amino acid L-arginine by a family of enzymes, the nitric oxide synthases, through a hitherto unrecognized metabolic route -- namely, the L-arginine-nitric oxide pathway1–8. The synthesis of nitric oxide by vascular endothelium is responsible for the vasodilator tone that is essential for the regulation of blood pressure. In the central nervous system nitric oxide is a neurotransmitter that underpins several functions, including the formation of memory. . . .

6,464 citations

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TL;DR: The pathophysiology seems to be largely attributable to insulin resistance with excessive flux of fatty acids implicated, and a proinflammatory state probably contributes to the metabolic syndrome.

5,810 citations

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TL;DR: Current evidence indicates that most of the cytotoxicity attributed to NO is rather due to peroxynitrite, produced from the diffusion-controlled reaction between NO and another free radical, the superoxide anion, which is presented in detail in this review.
Abstract: The discovery that mammalian cells have the ability to synthesize the free radical nitric oxide (NO) has stimulated an extraordinary impetus for scientific research in all the fields of biology and medicine. Since its early description as an endothelial-derived relaxing factor, NO has emerged as a fundamental signaling device regulating virtually every critical cellular function, as well as a potent mediator of cellular damage in a wide range of conditions. Recent evidence indicates that most of the cytotoxicity attributed to NO is rather due to peroxynitrite, produced from the diffusion-controlled reaction between NO and another free radical, the superoxide anion. Peroxynitrite interacts with lipids, DNA, and proteins via direct oxidative reactions or via indirect, radical-mediated mechanisms. These reactions trigger cellular responses ranging from subtle modulations of cell signaling to overwhelming oxidative injury, committing cells to necrosis or apoptosis. In vivo, peroxynitrite generation represents a crucial pathogenic mechanism in conditions such as stroke, myocardial infarction, chronic heart failure, diabetes, circulatory shock, chronic inflammatory diseases, cancer, and neurodegenerative disorders. Hence, novel pharmacological strategies aimed at removing peroxynitrite might represent powerful therapeutic tools in the future. Evidence supporting these novel roles of NO and peroxynitrite is presented in detail in this review.

5,514 citations