Skip to main content
PMC home page
British Journal of Pharmacology logoLink to British Journal of Pharmacology
. 1991 Jan;102(1):234–238. doi: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1991.tb12159.x

Identification of N-iminoethyl-L-ornithine as an irreversible inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase in phagocytic cells.

T B McCall 1, M Feelisch 1, R M Palmer 1, S Moncada 1
PMCID: PMC1917886  PMID: 1710525

Abstract

1. The synthesis of nitric oxide (NO) from L-arginine by rat peritoneal neutrophils (PMN) and the murine macrophage cell-line J774 and the inhibition of this synthesis by N-iminoethyl-L-ornithine (L-NIO), NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA), NG-nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA) and its methyl ester (L-NAME) were investigated. 2. L-NIO was the most potent inhibitor in both types of cells while L-NMMA was less active. L-NNA and L-NAME had no significant effect in PMN and L-NNA produced only approximately 40% inhibition of the generation of NO in the J774 cells at the highest concentration tested (300 microM). 3. The inhibitory effect of L-NIO was rapid in onset, requiring 10 min pre-incubation to achieve its full inhibitory activity, while the other compounds required 20-60 min pre-incubation to achieve their full effect. 4. The inhibitory effect of L-NIO (10 microM) on intact cells could not be reversed by L-arginine (300 microM) but could be prevented by concomitant incubation with this compound (300 microM), while the effect of the other inhibitors could be reversed by a 3-5 fold molar excess of L-arginine. 5. The NO synthase from both PMN and J774 cells was cytosolic and NADPH- but not Ca2(+)-dependent, with Km values for L-arginine of 3.3 +/- 0.8 and 4.2 +/- 1.1 microM respectively. 6. L-NIO was the most potent inhibitor of the neutrophil and J774 enzymes with IC50 values of 0.8 +/- 0.1 and 3 +/- 0.5 microM respectively. Furthermore, the effect of L-NIO was irreversible.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Full text

PDF
234

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Feelisch M., Noack E. A. Correlation between nitric oxide formation during degradation of organic nitrates and activation of guanylate cyclase. Eur J Pharmacol. 1987 Jul 2;139(1):19–30. doi: 10.1016/0014-2999(87)90493-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Hibbs J. B., Jr, Taintor R. R., Vavrin Z., Rachlin E. M. Nitric oxide: a cytotoxic activated macrophage effector molecule. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1988 Nov 30;157(1):87–94. doi: 10.1016/s0006-291x(88)80015-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Hibbs J. B., Jr, Vavrin Z., Taintor R. R. L-arginine is required for expression of the activated macrophage effector mechanism causing selective metabolic inhibition in target cells. J Immunol. 1987 Jan 15;138(2):550–565. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Knowles R. G., Palacios M., Palmer R. M., Moncada S. Formation of nitric oxide from L-arginine in the central nervous system: a transduction mechanism for stimulation of the soluble guanylate cyclase. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1989 Jul;86(13):5159–5162. doi: 10.1073/pnas.86.13.5159. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Knowles R. G., Palacios M., Palmer R. M., Moncada S. Kinetic characteristics of nitric oxide synthase from rat brain. Biochem J. 1990 Jul 1;269(1):207–210. doi: 10.1042/bj2690207. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Kwon N. S., Nathan C. F., Stuehr D. J. Reduced biopterin as a cofactor in the generation of nitrogen oxides by murine macrophages. J Biol Chem. 1989 Dec 5;264(34):20496–20501. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Marletta M. A., Yoon P. S., Iyengar R., Leaf C. D., Wishnok J. S. Macrophage oxidation of L-arginine to nitrite and nitrate: nitric oxide is an intermediate. Biochemistry. 1988 Nov 29;27(24):8706–8711. doi: 10.1021/bi00424a003. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. McCall T. B., Boughton-Smith N. K., Palmer R. M., Whittle B. J., Moncada S. Synthesis of nitric oxide from L-arginine by neutrophils. Release and interaction with superoxide anion. Biochem J. 1989 Jul 1;261(1):293–296. doi: 10.1042/bj2610293. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Palacios M., Knowles R. G., Palmer R. M., Moncada S. Nitric oxide from L-arginine stimulates the soluble guanylate cyclase in adrenal glands. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1989 Dec 15;165(2):802–809. doi: 10.1016/s0006-291x(89)80037-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Palmer R. M., Moncada S. A novel citrulline-forming enzyme implicated in the formation of nitric oxide by vascular endothelial cells. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1989 Jan 16;158(1):348–352. doi: 10.1016/s0006-291x(89)80219-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Palmer R. M., Rees D. D., Ashton D. S., Moncada S. L-arginine is the physiological precursor for the formation of nitric oxide in endothelium-dependent relaxation. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1988 Jun 30;153(3):1251–1256. doi: 10.1016/s0006-291x(88)81362-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Radomski M. W., Palmer R. M., Moncada S. An L-arginine/nitric oxide pathway present in human platelets regulates aggregation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1990 Jul;87(13):5193–5197. doi: 10.1073/pnas.87.13.5193. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Rees D. D., Palmer R. M., Schulz R., Hodson H. F., Moncada S. Characterization of three inhibitors of endothelial nitric oxide synthase in vitro and in vivo. Br J Pharmacol. 1990 Nov;101(3):746–752. doi: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1990.tb14151.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Salvemini D., de Nucci G., Gryglewski R. J., Vane J. R. Human neutrophils and mononuclear cells inhibit platelet aggregation by releasing a nitric oxide-like factor. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1989 Aug;86(16):6328–6332. doi: 10.1073/pnas.86.16.6328. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Stuehr D. J., Gross S. S., Sakuma I., Levi R., Nathan C. F. Activated murine macrophages secrete a metabolite of arginine with the bioactivity of endothelium-derived relaxing factor and the chemical reactivity of nitric oxide. J Exp Med. 1989 Mar 1;169(3):1011–1020. doi: 10.1084/jem.169.3.1011. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Tayeh M. A., Marletta M. A. Macrophage oxidation of L-arginine to nitric oxide, nitrite, and nitrate. Tetrahydrobiopterin is required as a cofactor. J Biol Chem. 1989 Nov 25;264(33):19654–19658. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Journal of Pharmacology are provided here courtesy of The British Pharmacological Society

RESOURCES