Asthma is a chronic disease characterized by increased airway responsiveness and airway inflammation. The functional role of nitric oxide (NO) and the various nitric oxide synthase (NOS) isoforms in human asthma is controversial. To investigate the role of NO in an established model of allergic asthma, mice with targeted deletions of the three known isoforms of NOS (NOS1, 2, and 3) were studied. Although the inducible (NOS2) isoform was significantly upregulated in the lungs of ovalbumin (OVA)-sensitized and -challenged (OVA/OVA) wild-type (WT) mice and was undetectable in similarly treated NOS2-deficient mice, airway responsiveness was not significantly different between these groups. OVA/OVA endothelial (NOS3)-deficient mice were significantly more responsive to methacholine challenge compared with similarly treated NOS1 and NOS1&3-deficient mice. Airway responsiveness in OVA/OVA neuronal (NOS1)-deficient and neuronal/endothelial (NOS1&3) double-deficient mice was significantly less than that observed in similarly treated NOS2 and WT groups. These findings demonstrate an important function for the nNOS isoform in controlling the inducibility of airway hyperresponsiveness in this model of allergic asthma.
Contribution of Nitric Oxide Synthases 1, 2, and 3 to Airway Hyperresponsiveness and Inflammation in a Murine Model of Asthma
Address correspondence to George T. De Sanctis, Pulmonary and Critical Care Divisions, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115. Phone: 617-278-0729; Fax: 617-732-7421; E-mail: [email protected]
The analysis of lung resistance was performed using software provided by Andrew Jackson (Biomedical Engineering at Boston University, Boston, MA).
George T. De Sanctis, James A. MacLean, Kaoru Hamada, Sanjay Mehta, Jeremy A. Scott, Aiping Jiao, Chandri N. Yandava, Lester Kobzik, Walter W. Wolyniec, Attila J. Fabian, Changaram S. Venugopal, Hartmut Grasemann, Paul L. Huang, Jeffrey M. Drazen; Contribution of Nitric Oxide Synthases 1, 2, and 3 to Airway Hyperresponsiveness and Inflammation in a Murine Model of Asthma . J Exp Med 17 May 1999; 189 (10): 1621–1630. doi: https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.189.10.1621
Download citation file:
Sign in
Client Account
Sign in via your Institution
Sign in via your InstitutionSuggested Content
Email alerts
Advertisement