Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Nitric oxide as a regulator of inflammatory processes

2005; Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Ministério da Saúde; Volume: 100; Issue: suppl 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1590/s0074-02762005000900002

1678-8060

John L. Wallace,

Neutrophil, Myeloperoxidase and Oxidative Mechanisms

Nitric oxide (NO) plays an important role in mediating many aspects of inflammatory responses. NO is an effector molecule of cellular injury, and can act as an anti-oxidant. It can modulate the release of various inflammatory mediators from a wide range of cells participating in inflammatory responses (e.g., leukocytes, macrophages, mast cells, endothelial cells, and platelets). It can modulate blood flow, adhesion of leukocytes to the vascular endothelium and the activity of numerous enzymes, all of which can have an impact on inflammatory responses. In recent years, NO-releasing drugs have been developed, usually as derivatives of other drugs, which exhibit very powerful anti-inflammatory effects.