The ability of hemoglobin and myoglobin to bind nitric oxide (NO) produced by other cells and circulating vasodilators is well known. To characterize erythrocytes (RBCs), we used NADPH diaphorase labeling, as well as antibodies to the three known types of NO synthase (NOS 1, 2, and 3), and to a molecule usually associated with NOS, calmodulin. We show that the NADPH-diaphorase label labels myenteric neurons, endothelial cells, and the blood cells trapped in the lumen of the blood vessels running through the intestinal wall. The myenteric neurons are also positive for neuronal NOS (NOS1), calmodulin, and neuropeptide Y, indicating that they are NO-producing neurons. Endothelial cells are positive for NOS3 (a constitutive form of NOS), while macrophages and lymphocytes are positive for NOS2 (an inducible form of NOS). All are positive for calmodulin. Surprisingly, the RBCs are positive for NOS2 and 3, as well as calmodulin. Thus the RBCs possess all the cellular machinery to synthesize their own NO. We suggest that erythrocytes would synthesize and use NO to modulate their own physiology.

To understand viral and host factors that contribute to transplacental transmission of human immunodeficiency virus, we developed an animal model using pregnant female macaques infected with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). Pregnant females were inoculated intravenously during midgestation with either a well-characterized primary isolate of SIV (SIV/DeltaB670) or a combination of SIV/DeltaB670 and the macrophage-tropic molecular clone SIV/17E-Fr. The viral genetic diversity in five infected female macaques and their in utero-infected infants was analyzed. All of the mothers harbored a genetically diverse virus population at parturition, whereas a single genotype from the maternal quasispecies was identified in the infants at birth. Only one of two variants was found in the infants: SIV/17E-Fr (two cases) or a genotype contained within the SIV/DeltaB670 quasispecies (three cases). The macrophage-tropic properties of both transmitted genotypes were suggested by productive replication in primary rhesus macrophage cultures in vitro and the clonal presence in central nervous system tissue of infected monkeys with encephalitis. These observations provide compelling evidence for both genotypic and phenotypic selection in transplacental transmission of SIV and suggest a critical role for macrophages in fetal infection in utero.

Cyclosporin (CsA) inhibits mitochondrial death signaling and opposes tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-induced apoptosis in vitro. However, CsA is also a potent inhibitor of calcineurin, a phosphatase that may participate in cell death. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that calcineurin regulates TNF cytotoxicity in rat hepatoma cells (FTO2B). TNF-treated FTO2B cells appeared apoptotic by DNA fragmentation, nuclear condensation, annexin V binding, and caspase activation. We studied two calcineurin inhibitors, CsA and FK506, and found that each potently inhibited TNF cytotoxicity. Western blot demonstrated calcineurin in FTO2B homogenates. In a model of mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT), we found that CsA prevented MPT and cytochrome c release, while FK506 inhibited neither. In summary, we present evidence that calcineurin participates in an apoptotic death pathway activated by TNF. CsA may oppose programmed cell death by inhibiting calcineurin activity and/or inhibiting mitochondrial signaling. ß

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