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In this study, we realized the continual and long-term electrochemical detection of NO production by stimulated macrophages using modified porphyrinic microsensor. The NO release from RAW 264.7 cells stimulated by lipopolysaccharide started 5 h after the lipopolysaccharide administration. After reaching its maximum at the sixth hour, the stable level of NO production was observed between the seventh and 12th hour of the experiment. This phase was followed by a gradual decline in NO production. A close correlation between the NO signal detected with microelectrode and nitrite accumulation, which had been determined in supernatants removed from stimulated cells, was observed. This finding was utilized for the calibration of the electrochemical experiment. The presence of iNOS enzyme, which constitutes a main requirement for NO production by stimulated macrophages, was confirmed by Western blot analysis of iNOS protein expression at key time points of the corresponding electrochemical experiment. The capability of our microsensor to instantaneously monitor the changes in the NO production by stimulated RAW 264.7 cells was demonstrated by the immediate decrease in the signal due to NO as a response to the addition of iNOS inhibitor into the cell culture medium.

As reported in our previous studies, dithiaden (an antagonist of histamine H1-receptor, used clinically as an anti-allergic or anti-emetic drug) in a concentration range of 5×10−5–10−4 M decreased the production of reactive oxygen species by phagocytes. In this study we investigated the influence of dithiaden on nitric oxide (NO) production by LPS-stimulated macrophages.The cell viability in the presence of 10−4–5×10−5 M dithiaden was evaluated by an ATP-test. RAW 264.7 cells (2.5×106/well) were preincubated with dithiaden for 60 mins and subsequently stimulated with 0.1 µg/ml of bacterial lipopolysaccharide. After incubating for 24 hours the NO production was determined spectrophotometrically using Griess reaction as a concentration of nitrites (the end product of NO metabolism) accumulated in the cell supernatants. The expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in cell-lysates was evaluated using Western blot analysis. Scavenging properties of dithiaden against NO were evaluated amperometrically.Our data demonstrate that dithiaden in the concentration of 5×10−5 M (approved by ATP test as non toxic) caused a significant decrease in the accumulation of nitrites, and in addition, this decline was followed by a marked reduction of iNOS protein expression. Amperometrical analysis did not show any scavenging properties of dithiaden against NO.From this data it can be suggested that the inhibition effect of dithiaden on macrophage NO production is caused exclusively by the suppression of iNOS protein expression.

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