Increased eNO and pulmonary iNOS expression in eNOS null mice. S. Cook, P. Vollenweider, B. Ménard, M. Egli, P. Nicod, U. Scherrer. #ERS Journals Ltd 2003. ABSTRACT: Nitric oxide (NO) is a major regulatory molecule of the cardiovascular system; however, measurement of vascular NO synthesis in vivo represents a major challenge. NO stemming from the lower respiratory tract has been used as a marker of vascular endothelial function. Experimental evidence for this concept is lacking. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate this relationship.Lower respiratory tract exhaled NO concentration, together with systemic and pulmonary artery pressure, was measured in endothelial nitric oxide synthase (NOS) (eNOS) null mice (eNOS-/-). Similar studies were performed in inducible NOS (iNOS) null mice (iNOS-/-).Defective endothelial NO synthesis in eNOS-/-mice (evidenced by systemic and pulmonary hypertension) was associated with augmented exhaled NO levels (12.5¡1.9 versus 9.8¡1.2 parts per billion (ppb), eNOS-/-versus wild type), whereas normal endothelial NO synthesis in iNOS-/-mice was associated with decreased exhaled NO levels (4.3 ¡ 1.5 ppb). Augmented exhaled NO levels in eNOS-/-mice were associated with upregulation of iNOS expression in the lung.These results indicate that inducible nitric oxide synthase is a major determinant of gaseous nitric oxide production in the lung, and lower respiratory tract exhaled nitric oxide does not always represent a marker of vascular endothelial nitric oxide synthesis. Since the late 1980s, nitric oxide (NO) has emerged as a major regulator of the cardiovascular system [1]. Measurement of vascular endothelial nitric oxide synthase (NOS) (eNOS) activity and its final product NO in vivo still represents a major challenge, because the small amount of NO produced by the endothelium is rapidly scavenged by haemoglobin and then inactivated. To date, the contribution of NO to the regulation of vascular tone has been assessed by indirect methods, examining specific modifications of physiological responses induced by NOS inhibitors and NO donors, and/or measuring levels of NO metabolites or cyclic guanosine monophosphate [2].NO is present in the exhaled air of many animal species and humans [3], but its origin and physiological function are incompletely understood. In the respiratory tract, all three NOS isoforms are expressed in tissues close to the airways. Although there is consensus that under normal conditions, a large proportion of the exhaled NO is synthesised by inducible NOS (iNOS) located in the epithelial cells of the upper respiratory tract [4,5], the origin and function of lower respiratory tract exhaled NO is incompletely understood. It has been claimed that exhaled NO stemming from the lower respiratory tract represents a marker of vascular endothelial NO synthesis [6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. Experimental evidence for this concept is lacking, however, and studies in humans, using pharmacological NOS inhibitors, suggest that eNOS barely albeit significantly, cont...