Picomolar nitric oxide signals from central neurons recorded using ultrasensitive detector cells.

ABSTRACT: Nitric oxide (NO) is a widespread signaling molecule with potentially multifarious actions of relevance to health and disease. A fundamental determinant of how it acts is its concentration, but there remains a lack of coherent information on the patterns of NO release from its sources, such as neurons or endothelial cells, in either normal or pathological conditions. We have used detector cells having the highest recorded NO sensitivity to monitor NO release from brain tissue quantitatively and in real time. Stimulation of NMDA receptors, which are coupled to activation of neuronal NO synthase, routinely generated NO signals from neurons in cerebellar slices. The average computed peak NO concentrations varied across the anatomical layers of the cerebellum, from 12 to 130 pm. The mean value

SUBMITTER: Wood KC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3234811 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature