Along with the growing heterogeneity of the American population, ethnic/racial disparity is becoming a clear health issue in the United States. The awareness of ethnic/racial disparities has been growing because of considerable data gathered from recent clinical and epidemiological studies. These studies have highlighted the importance of addressing these differences in the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases potentially according to race. It is becoming particularly clear that there is a 2-to 3-fold racial difference in certain cardiovascular diseases (eg, preeclampsia) associated with dysfunctional nitric oxide-mediated vasodilation. In this review, the authors summarize the current literature on racial disparities in nitric oxide-mediated vasodilation in relation to cardiovascular health with an emphasis on vascular nitric oxide bioavailability as a balance between production via endothelial nitric oxide synthase and degradation through reactive oxygen species. The major hypotheses postulated on the biological basis of these differences are also highlighted.
KeywordsRace; nitric oxide; endothelial nitric oxide synthase Nitric oxide (NO) was discovered in 1988 as the vascular endothelial cell-derived factor that causes relaxation of the underlying vascular smooth muscle. 1-3 NO dilates all types of blood vessels by stimulating soluble guanylate cyclase that produces cyclic guanosine monophosphate in smooth muscle cells. 3 In addition to its vasodilatory properties, NO exerts some anti-inflammatory effects in the blood vessel wall by inhibiting leukocyte adhesion to the endothelium. 4 NO also inhibits platelet adhesion and activation, thereby acting as an antithrombotic factor. 5 NO inhibits smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration and regulates the expression of certain proteins involved in vessel wall remodeling, thereby contributing to the control of vascular compliance. 6 Other functions of NO not related to the cardiovascular system include regulation of neuronal proliferation/differentiation, 7 sexual function, 8 insulin release, 9 and immune responses in inflammation. 10 NO participates in a broad spectrum of physiologic and pathophysiologic processes, 11 such as neurodegeneration and memory function, 12,13 pulmonary vascular remodeling and apoptosis, 14 atherosclerosis, 15 and exercise-induced cardioprotection. 16 Impairment of NO bioavailability leads to endothelial dysfunction and is a pivotal event in the pathogenesis of many cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, heart failure, and coronary artery disease. 17-19 NO-dependent endothelial dysfunction has also been associated with a range of other disorders such as pulmonary hypertension, 20 asthma, 14,20 erectile dysfunction, 8 preeclampsia, 21 and insulin resistance and diabetes mellitus. 9The ethnic/racial impact on health has been receiving considerable attention in recent years. The phenomenon of ethnic health disparities in cardiovascular and many other diseases is becoming clear, and awareness of the importance in ad...