[HTML][HTML] NO as a signalling molecule in the nervous system

JV Esplugues - British journal of pharmacology, 2002 - ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
British journal of pharmacology, 2002ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
NO was first characterized in the CNS as the intercellular messenger mediating the increase
in cyclic GMP levels that follows activation of glutamate receptors (Garthwaite et al., 1988).
The majority of the information available deals with nNOS, of which the brain contains the
highest activity found in any tissue, and which, although present in some cerebral vessels
and in glial cells, is predominantly found in neurones (Bredt et al., 1990; Salter et al., 1991).
nNOS-containing neurones are present in many areas of the CNS (Figure 4), with the …
NO was first characterized in the CNS as the intercellular messenger mediating the increase in cyclic GMP levels that follows activation of glutamate receptors (Garthwaite et al., 1988). The majority of the information available deals with nNOS, of which the brain contains the highest activity found in any tissue, and which, although present in some cerebral vessels and in glial cells, is predominantly found in neurones (Bredt et al., 1990; Salter et al., 1991). nNOS-containing neurones are present in many areas of the CNS (Figure 4), with the highest densities occurring in the accessory olfactory bulb and granule cells of the cerebellum. Although nNOS neurones represent only roughly 1% of cell bodies in the cerebral cortex, virtually every neurone in the cortex is exposed to nNOS nerve terminals. From a morphological point of view nNOS neurones display a great heterogeneity in their localization within the CNS, constituting a small population of varying interneurones. Furthermore, the number and chemical characteristics of nNOS neurones vary considerably depending on the area of the brain while the enzyme itself does not co-localize with any single neurotransmitter (Braissant et al., 1999; Iwase et al., 1998; Vincent, 1995; Wolf, 1997). nNOS can be located either pre-or postsynaptically and is particularly implicated in neural signalling, neurotoxicity, synaptic plasticity and modulation of behavioural pathways such as learning or expression of pain. eNOS is mainly involved in the regulation of vascular function and, although also present in some populations of neurones (Dinerman et al., 1994) and glia (Wiencken & Casagrande, 1999), is predominantly located in the endothelial cells of cerebral vessels. Finally, induction of iNOS in glial cells is implicated in the unspecific immune response of the brain and is usually associated with pathological conditions (Murphy, 2000).
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