FIG. 2.

NOS enzyme activity in noncultured PBMC. PBMC were prepared from healthy Gabonese children with PMM (n = 18) or PSM (n = 10). Cell lysates were prepared from noncultured PBMC, and NOS enzyme activity (picomoles of citrulline/milligram of protein) was determined by measuring the conversion of l-[¹⁴C]arginine to l-[¹⁴C]citrulline. The graph shows the means + standard errors of the mean (error bars) for each of the two groups. Comparisons between the PMM and PSM groups were made by using the Wilcoxon rank sum and Mann-Whitney U tests (statistical significance [P < 0.05]). ∗, P < 0.05 (for the PMM versus the PSM groups).