The cerebral metabolic consequences of nitric oxide synthase deficiency: Glucose utilization in endothelial and neuronal nitric oxide synthase null mice

Nitric oxide has multiple physiologic roles in the CNS. Inhibiting nitric o xide synthesis might therefore alter functional activity within the brain. We used [C-14]-2-deoxy-glucose in vivo autoradiography to measure local CMR glc in "knockout" mice lacking the genes for either the endothelial (eNOS) or neuronal (nNOS) isoforms of nitric oxide synthase, and in the progenitor strains (SV129, C57B1/6). Glucose utilization levels did not significantly differ between nNOS and eNOS knockout mice and C57B1/6 mice in any of the 48 brain regions examined, but were relatively lower in some subcortical re gions in SV129 mice.