SIGNAL-TRANSDUCTION USING NITRIC-OXIDE AND CYCLIC GUANOSINE-MONOPHOSPHATE

Understanding of the formation and biological actions of nitric oxide (NO) has grown extensively during the past 2 decades. Through our disc overies of the biological effects of NO and nitrovasodilators on cycli c guanosine monophosphate (GMP) and our discoveries of the biochemical mechanisms of NO and regulation of NO synthase in numerous cell types and tissues, the complexity of the signal transduction cascade and th e extensive function-regulating interactions of the NO molecule have b een increasingly demonstrated. Although the diverse roles of this uniq ue molecule continue to unfold, NO can be recognized as an intracellul ar second messenger, a local substance for regulation of neighboring c ells, a neurotransmitter in central and peripheral neurons, and perhap s a hormone that can act at distant sites and has been shown to have b eneficial or deleterious biological effects, depending on its concentr ation, the system, and the cellular environment.