Current Pharmaceutical Design - Volume 9, Issue 5, 2003

Nitric oxide (NO) is a major paracrine mediator and important regulatory agent in various female reproductive processes, such as ovulation, implantation, pregnancy maintenance, labor and delivery. Ovulation: Circulating NOproducts are increased during follicle development and decreased right after ovulation. INOS-inhibition results in a 50%reduction of ovulation, an effect completely reversed by an NO. Endomet Read More

Nitric oxide (NO) plays a crucial role in reproduction at every level in the organism. In the brain, it activates the release of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH). The axons of the LHRH neurons project to the mating centers in the brain stem and by efferent pathways, evoke the lordosis reflex in female rats. In males, there is activation of NOergic terminals that release NO in the corpora cavernosa penis to induce Read More

As a group, nitric oxide synthase (NOS) isoforms are localized to a wide variety of tissues. Understanding the role of NOS in reproductive physiology was facilitated by the introduction of genetically engineered mice. Specifically, “knock-out” mice with targeted disruptions in neuronal NOS, endothelial NOS and inducible NOS have been made. These models have been useful in addressing the of role of nitric oxide in areas of Read More

Nitric oxide synthases, the enzymes that generate NO gas, may be involved in reproduction and development of multicellular organisms at many levels and thus provide important targets for design of drugs to intervene in reproductive processes. This review focuses on the role of nitric oxide in key events of reproduction including gamete activation, fertilization, early cell divisions and implantation. A general trend highlighted Read More

This paper reviews new models of nitric-oxide (NO) - related regulation of transepithelial and transendothelial permeability in normal tissues, with emphasis on physiological relevance of the data. Novel data obtained in cultured human epithelial and endothelial cells indicate that NO can originate from different intracellular sources, and can be selectively regulated and employed to activate various intracellular mechanis Read More

Low and controlled concentrations of nitric oxide play an important role in sperm physiology. Nitric oxide is produced by spermatozoa and acts as an intracellular signaling molecule in the processes of capacitation and acrosome reaction. It has been documented that during capacitation, nitric oxide interacts with the cAMP-protein kinase A pathway and also is involved in tyrosine nitration of sperm proteins. On the other hand, d Read More