D. Mincgolomb et al., EXPRESSION OF INDUCIBLE NITRIC-OXIDE SYNTHASE BY NEURONS FOLLOWING EXPOSURE TO ENDOTOXIN AND CYTOKINE, British Journal of Pharmacology, 112(3), 1994, pp. 720-722
In the CNS, nitric oxide (NO) has been implicated as both a mediator o
f neurotoxicity and a neuromodulator. The inducible NO synthase (iNOS)
, thought to mediate toxic effects of NO, has been attributed to glial
cells in the CNS. We now report that cerebellar granule cell neurones
can be stimulated by lipopolysaccharide and interferon-gamma to expre
ss iNOS in vitro, as demonstrated by reverse transcription-polymerase
chain reaction and fluorescent in situ hybridisation. The expression o
f both constitutive NO synthase (cNOS) and iNOS by neurones suggests t
hat NO has diverse functions in the brain, and supports the possibilit
y that iNOS plays a role in neuronal damage and inflammation following
activation of brain microglia and production of cytokines.