HYPERBARIC OXYGENATION REDUCES THE CYTOSTATIC ACTIVITY AND TRANSCRIPTION OF NITRIC-OXIDE SYNTHETASE GENE OF MOUSE PERITONEAL-MACROPHAGES

The effects of hyperbaric oxygenation (HBO) and hyperbaric air (HBA) o n the cytostatic activity, peroxynitrite synthesis and transcription o f the inducible nitric oxide synthetase (iNOS) gene of murine peritone al macrophages were studied in vitro. Exposure of mice to HBO or HBA s ignificantly reduced the cytostatic activity, peroxynitrite synthesis and transcription of iNOS mRNA of their macrophages stimulated with li popolysaccharide (LPS) and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma). These results indicate that HBO and HBA treatments of mice reduce the cytostatic ac tivity of peritoneal macrophages by reducing iNOS mRNA synthesis.