Specificity of inducible nitric-oxide synthase inhibitors: prospects for their clinical therapy

Nitric oxide (NO) is a ubiquitous, naturally occurring molecule found in a variety of cell types and organ systems. It is a double-edged sword, benefi cial as a messenger or modulator and for immunology self-defense, but poten tially toxic. The formation and signal function of nitric oxide are mainly modulated by: nitric-oxide synthase (NOS). Up to the present, a number of d iseases, Including circulatory shock, atherosclerosis, cardiac allograft re jection, chronic inflammation, cardiac infarction, cancer and so on, have b een demonstrated that their pathogenesis may be involved in the sustained p roduction of large quantities of nitric oxide. Animal studies and human stu dies have shown that specific inhibitors of inducible nitric oxide synthase may be useful in the therapy of a variety of diseases associated with indu ction of nitric-oxide synthase. In this review, we compare and contrast the se inhibitors along with examples of their use in the studies of medicine.