Real-time in vivo NO Monitoring in Mice Treated with NO-releasing Agents

Abstract

Nitric oxide (NO) is a free radical well recognized for its various physiological roles. Despite its importance, direct detection of NO is difficult for its high reactivity with other substances especially in vivo, where NO is rapidly con- verted to nitrosylhemoglobin and other oxidized species. In this study, we used NO-selective microelectrodes, which are capable of real-time detection of NO, to quantify NO released from NOC7 and NO-aspirin, the latter being a new type of NO-releasing drugs currently in clinical trial. NO was detected in in vitro experiments as well as in the liver and kidney of ddY mice given both NO-releasing compounds. We also used ESR spectroscopy to determine the for- mation of nitrosylhemoglobin in the blood of mice.