Nitric oxide synthase (NOS Types I-III) generate nitric oxide (NO), which in turn activates soluble guanylyl cyclase (GC-S). The distribution of this NO-mediated (nitrinergic) signal transduction pathway in the body is unclear. A polyclonal monospecific antibody to rat cerebellum NOS-I and a monoclonal antibody to rat lung GC-S were employed to localize the protein components of this pathway in different rat organs and tissues. We confirmed the localization of NOS-I in neurons of the central and peripheral nervous system, where NO may regulate cerebral blood flow and mediate long-term potentiation. GC-S was located in NOSnegative neurons, indicating that NO acts as an intercellular signal molecule or neurotransmitter. However, NOS-I was not confined to neurons but was widely distributed over
IntroductionThe intracellular formation of nitric oxide (NO) has been extensively studied in various mammalian tissues. NO (1,2), or a labile intermediate that is able to release NO, is generated from a terminal guanidino nitrogen of L-arginine (3-5) by a family of NO synthases (NOS; EC 1.14.23). L-Citrulline is the byproduct of this metabolic pathway. NO is the first messenger molecule of a signal transduction pathway (Figure 1). Although other targets for NO Supported by research grants DK 30787 and H I . 28474 several non-neural cell types and tissues. These included glia cells, m a d densa of kidney, epithelial cells of lung, uterus, and stomach, and islets of Langerhans. Our findings suggest that NOS-I is the most widely distributed isoform of NOS and, in addition to its neural functions, regulates secretion and non-vascular smooth muscle function. With the exception of bone tissue, NADPH-diaphorase (NADPH-d) activity was generally co-localized with NOS-I immunoreactivity in both neural and non-neural cells, and is a suitable histochemical marker for NOS-I but not a selective neuronal marker. (J Histochem Cytochem 40:1439-1456, 1992) KEY WORDS: Cyclic GMP; Brain; Pancreas; Kidney; Stomach; Lung; Uterus; Bone; Epithelium; Endometrium. exist (6), its main mechanism of action involves binding to and activation of soluble guanylyl cyclase (GC-S; GTP pyrophosphatelyase (cyclizing), EC 4.6.1.2) (7), which then forms the second messenger molecule guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP).NOS have been purified and characterized from brain (8-14), macrophages (15,16), and endothelial cells (17), and recently also from human cerebellum (18). Molecular cloning has provided clear evidence that brain (19) and macrophage (20) NOS are products of different genes. The relation between brain and endothelial NOS is unclear. Another polydonal antibody raised against rat brain NOS (21) was reported to bind to endothelial cell matrix, and the authors suggested that brain and endothelial NOS are highly homologous if not identical (22). Conversely, endothelial NOS was reported by our laboratory to differ from brain NOS with respect to molecular mass and subcellular location (17) and we proposed a classification of at least three types...