We studied by ultrafast time-resolved absorption spectroscopy the geminate recombination of NO to the oxygenase domain of the inducible NO synthase, iNOSoxy, and to mutated proteins at position Trp-457. This tryptophan interacts with the tetrahydrobiopterin cofactor BH 4 , and W457A/F mutations largely reduced the catalytic formation of NO. BH 4 decreases the rate of NO rebinding to the ferric iNOSoxy compared with that measured in its absence. The pterin has a larger effect on W457A/F than on the WT protein by increasing NO release from the protein. Therefore, BH 4 raises the energy barrier for NO recombination to the mutated proteins in contrast with our observations on eNOS (SlamaSchwok, A., Né grerie, M., Berka, V., Lambry, J. The inducible NO-synthase (iNOS), 1 best characterized from macrophages, generates the highest NO concentration among the three isoforms of NOS. High NO concentrations counter pathogens by their cytotoxicity and taking part in the response of the immune system. In contrast, the constitutive isoforms, the neuronal nNOS and, especially, the endothelial eNOS produce NO at low concentrations, which acts as a physiological signal in vasorelaxation, neurotransmission, and oxygen detection (1).The NOS enzymes utilize NADPH as a donor of electrons, arginine, and oxygen as co-substrates (2). The cofactor tetrahydrobiopterin BH 4 is required for NO production and strongly decreases the level of superoxide ions formed by NOS in its absence (3). The binding of BH 4 to iNOS has structural effects in promoting the enzyme dimerization (4 -6), in increasing the binding affinity for the substrate, in shifting the heme spin state from low spin to high spin (7), and in modifying the heme midpoint potential (8). In addition to these structural roles, BH 4 is involved in the catalysis as an electron donor to Fe(II)-O 2 complex (9 -11). Direct evidence for a pterin radical was obtained by rapid freeze-quench EPR (12).According to the x-ray structures of iNOS oxygenase domain, BH 4 makes hydrogen bonds with the heme propionate and extensive interactions with the residues Trp-455, Trp-457, Phe-470, Arg-375, and . Mutation of the residues located near the BH 4 binding site in the oxygenase domain of iNOS shows that hydrogen bonding and stacking modify the extent of dimer formation, the heme environment, and the efficiency of NO synthesis. Specifically, the mutation of Trp-457 into Phe and Ala allowed for dimerization but decreased the NO synthesis activity 3.3-fold and 8-fold, respectively (17). Single-turnover experiments using these mutated proteins followed the formation and decay of Fe(II)-O 2 and the BH 4 radical as intermediates, yielding the ferric complex as the final species (18 -19). These studies showed that Trp-457 ensured a correct rate of electron transfer from BH 4 to Fe(II)-O 2 in the presence of arginine, which maximized the extent of N-hydroxyarginine formed. In the second step of catalysis, Trp-457 modulated the kinetics of N-hydroxyarginine oxidation by iNOS, although the BH 4 radical was n...