Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Turkiye Klinikleri Cardiovascular Sciences, cilt.28, sa.3, ss.99-117, 2016 (Scopus)
Copyright © 2016 by Türkiye Klinikleri.Nitric oxide (NO) is a free-radical gas known to exist in the environment for many years. Recent studies uncovered that NO is an important molecule involved in many physiological and pathological processes in the organism. NO take active role in regulation of neurotransmission, immune response, gastric mucosal integrity, ciliary activity in respiratory tract, blood flow to renal glomeruli and cavernous system. However, cardiovascular system is the system where the effect of NO is most prominent. NO plays important role in regulation of cardiac contraction, heart rate and vascular tone. Dysregulation of NO response is associated with cardiovascular disorders including hypertension, heart failure, ischemic heart disease, coronary artery disorder and arrhythmia. NO donors and phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors that act via NO signaling are in clinical use for treatment of angina pectoris, hypoxic respiratory failure of newborn, erectile dysfunction and pulmonary artery hypertension. Research on discovery of new drugs that act via NO signaling continues intensively. However, cardiac effects of NO change based on the species used in the experiments, type of the experimental preparation (in-vivo, whole-heart, region of the heart, tissue, cell), redox balance and NO concentration at the target tissue; and complicate the drug discovery studies. Uncovering molecular mechanisms that lead to these differences with full detail is thought to enlighten the role of NO in cardiovascular diseases and contribute to discovery of more effective drugs that act via NO signaling pathway. In this review, we summarised the role of NO in cardiac physiology and pathology with their underlying molecular mechanisms.