Summary The surprising discovery that the diatomic gas nitric oxide (NO) is generated by mammalian cells and serves to regulate a multitude of physiological processes has continued to fascinate biologists for almost four decades. The biochemistry of NO is complex, and novel insights into the control of NO biosynthesis and mechanisms of signal transduction are continuously emerging. NO is a key regulator of cardiovascular function, metabolism, neurotransmission, immunity, and more, and aberrant NO signaling is a central feature of many major disorders including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. Here, we discuss the basics of NO biology emphasizing recent advances in the field including novel means of increasing NO bioactivity with therapeutic and nutritional implications. Early trials with NOS inhibitors in sepsis failed, as did trials using selective iNOS inhibitors for various inflammatory conditions. Nevertheless, iNOS is now instead emerging as a promising target in cancer and larger trials are in the pipeline. The development of sGC-stimulating drugs has been a success, and new indications can be foreseen besides pulmonary hypertension and heart failure, for which they are already approved. Finally, boosting of NO-like signaling by dietary means is emerging as a viable strategy to improve cardiovascular and metabolic function in health and disease. https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/...rss=yes&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Related: Nitric oxide signalling in cardiovascular health and disease (2018, Nature Cardio, paywalled).
NO is important in some types of memory formation, and I have wondered if this might be an aspect of brain fog.
