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. 2001 Mar;85(3):342–350. doi: 10.1136/heart.85.3.342

Endothelial function and nitric oxide: clinical relevance

P Vallance 1, N Chan 1
PMCID: PMC1729645  PMID: 11179281

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Figure 1:  .

Figure 1:  

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The L-arginine: nitric oxide pathway. NO, nitric oxide; NOS, nitric oxide synthase; GC, guanylate cyclase; cGMP, cyclic guanosine-3',5-monophosphate; GTP, guanosine triphosphate

Figure 2:  .

Figure 2:  

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(A) In most, if not all, vessels nitric oxide is synthesised within the endothelium. (B) In certain vessels (for example, cerebral vessels) nitric oxide is also synthesised by nerves in the adventitia (nitrogenic nerves). (C) After exposure to endotoxin or cytokines, iNOS is expressed throughout the vessel wall and produces large amounts of nitric oxide.

Figure 3:  .

Figure 3:  

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Inhibition of endogenous nitric oxide by L-NMMA produces a dose dependent reduction in forearm blood flow.

Figure 4:  .

Figure 4:  

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Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) is synthesised from L-arginine by protein methylase I and subsequently metabolised by dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase (DDAH) yielding citrulline. ADMA acts as an endogenous inhibitor of nitric oxide (NO) synthesis and its concentration is increased in certain disease states, possibly as a result of decreased DDAH actions.

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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