Publication: Nitric oxide in the stress axis
Authors
Lopez-Figueroa, M.O. ; Day, H.E.W. ; Akil, H. ; Watson, S.J.
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Publisher
Murcia : F. Hernández
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DOI
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info:eu-repo/semantics/article
Description
Abstract
In recent years nitric oxide (NO) has
emerged as a unique biological messenger. NO is a
highly diffusible gas, synthesized from L-arginine by the
enzyme nitric oxide synthase (NOS). Three unique
subtypes of NOS have been described, each with a
specific distribution profile in the brain and periphery.
NOS subtype I is present, among other areas, in the
hippocampus, hypothalamus, pituitary and adrenal
gland. Together these structures form the limbichypothalamic-
pituitary-adrenal (LHPA) or stress axis,
activation of which is one of the defining features of a
stress response. Evidence suggests that NO may
modulate the release of the stress hormones ACTH and
corticosterone, and NOS activity and transcription is
increased in the LHPA axis following various stressful
stimuli. Furthermore, following activation of the stress
axis, glucocorticoids are thought to down-regulate the
transcription and activity of NOS via a feedback
mechanism. Taken together, current data indicate a role
for NO in the regulation of the LHPA axis, although at
present this role is not well defined. It has been
suggested that NO may act as a cellular communicator in
plasticity and development, to facilitate the activation or
the release of other neurotransmitters, to mediate
immune responses, andlor as a vasodilator in the
regulation of blood flow. In the following review we
summarize some of the latest insights into the function
of NO, with special attention to its relationship with the
LHPA axis.
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