1. Nitric Oxide: Perspectives and Emerging Studies of a Well Known Cytotoxin.
- Author
-
Paradise, William A., Vesper, Benjamin J., Goel, Ajay, Waltonen, Joshua D., Altman, Kenneth W., Haines III, G. Kenneth, and Radosevich, James A.
- Subjects
NITRIC oxide ,PATHOLOGICAL physiology ,HUMAN physiology ,CELLS ,TUMOR antigens ,NEOVASCULARIZATION ,DISEASE progression ,TISSUES ,METHYLATION ,HISTONES ,MESSENGER RNA - Abstract
The free radical nitric oxide (NO
• ) is known to play a dual role in human physiology and pathophysiology. At low levels, NO• can protect cells; however, at higher levels, NO• is a known cytotoxin, having been implicated in tumor angiogenesis and progression. While the majority of research devoted to understanding the role of NO• in cancer has to date been tissue-specific, we herein review underlying commonalities of NO• which may well exist among tumors arising from a variety of different sites. We also discuss the role of NO• in human physiology and pathophysiology, including the very important relationship between NO• and the glutathione-transferases, a class of protective enzymes involved in cellular protection. The emerging role of NO• in three main areas of epigenetics-DNA methylation, microRNAs, and histone modifications-is then discussed. Finally, we describe the recent development of a model cell line system in which human tumor cell lines were adapted to high NO• (HNO) levels. We anticipate that these HNO cell lines will serve as a useful tool in the ongoing efforts to better understand the role of NO• in cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2010
- Full Text
- View/download PDF