Experts Shed New Light on the Surprising Mode of Action of Nitric Oxide and Carbon Monoxide in Cardiovascular Disease.CLEVELAND & NEWARK, N.J. -- Researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School have joined forces to uncover the surprising mode of action of two toxic gases - nitric oxide nitric oxide or nitrogen monoxide, a colorless gas formed by the combustion of nitrogen and oxygen as given by the reaction: energy + N2 + O2 → 2NO; m.p. −163.6°C;; b.p. −151.8°C;. and carbon monoxide carbon monoxide, chemical compound, CO, a colorless, odorless, tasteless, extremely poisonous gas that is less dense than air under ordinary conditions. It is very slightly soluble in water and burns in air with a characteristic blue flame, producing carbon dioxide; - on the regulation of blood pressure. Focco van den Akker, Ph.D., assistant professor of Biochemistry at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and Annie Beuve, Ph.D., assistant professor of Pharmacology and Physiology at UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School collaborated on a study that appears in the January 24 issue of The EMBO Journal, the academic publication of the European Molecular Biology molecular biology, scientific study of the molecular basis of life processes, including cellular respiration, excretion, and reproduction. The term molecular biology was coined in 1938 by Warren Weaver, then director of the natural sciences program at the Rockefeller Organization, which is published by Nature Publishing Group Nature Publishing Group (NPG) is an international publishing company that publishes scientific journals. It is a division of Macmillan Publishers Ltd, which in turn is owned by the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. . The paper elucidates the means by which nitric oxide and carbon monoxide bind to a protein called soluble guanylyl cyclase cyclase /cy·clase/ (si´klas) an enzyme that catalyzes the formation of a cyclic phosphodiester. cy·clase n. An enzyme that acts as a catalyst in the cyclization of a compound. (sGC) which is critical in the formation of another protein, cGMP, which induces the relaxation of blood vessels Blood vessels Tubular channels for blood transport, of which there are three principal types: arteries, capillaries, and veins. Only the larger arteries and veins in the body bear distinct names. . Disturbance in this process is responsible for many cardiovascular diseases including hypertension (high blood pressure), atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries hardening of the arteries: see arteriosclerosis. ) and erectile dysfunction. Understanding this process will help develop new strategies for the clinical treatment of these diseases which affect more than 50 million Americans. This novel discovery was only made possible through collaboration; Dr. van den Akker is an expert in revealing the three-dimensional structure of protein molecules, while Dr. Beuve is an expert in nitric oxide signaling and its receptor. The corresponding author, Dr. van den Akker notes that "nitric oxide is one of the smallest molecules in our body yet its physiological importance is tremendous and has led to the 1998 Nobel Prize for research uncovering its signaling role. Our molecular insights now reveal that nitric oxide and carbon monoxide shift and bend part of the main receptor sGC which is key to understanding blood pressure regulation and is thus of major pharmaceutical interest." The paper, "NO and CO differentially activate soluble guanylyl cuclase via a heme pivot-bend mechanism," appears in the January 24 issue of The EMBO Journal; 26 (2):578-88. About Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Founded in 1843, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine is the largest medical research institution in Ohio and 12th largest among the nation's medical schools for research funding from the National Institutes of Health. Eleven Nobel Laureates have been affiliated with the school. The School of Medicine is recognized throughout the international medical community for outstanding achievements in teaching and in 2002, became the third medical school in history to receive a pre-eminent review from the national body responsible for accrediting the nation's academic medical institutions. The School's innovative and pioneering Western Reserve2 curriculum interweaves four themes--research and scholarship, clinical mastery, leadership, and civic professionalism--to prepare students for the practice of evidence-based medicine in the rapidly changing health care environment of the 21st century. Annually, the School of Medicine trains more than 600 M.D. and M.D./Ph.D. students and ranks in the top 25 among U.S. research-oriented medical schools as designated by U.S. News and World Report Guide to Graduate Education. The School of Medicine's primary clinical affiliate is University Hospitals Case Medical Center and is additionally affiliated with MetroHealth Medical Center, the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, with which it established the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine The Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine (CCLCM) was established in 2004 through a collaboration of the Cleveland Clinic and Case Western Reserve University. CCLCM is a 5-year program with the goal of training physician-scientists. of Case Western Reserve University in 2002. http://casemed.case.edu About UMDNJ UMDNJ University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey Medical School UMDNJ is the nation's largest free-standing public health sciences university with more than 5,500 students attending the state's three medical schools, its only dental school, a graduate school of biomedical sciences Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences may refer to:
A Level I trauma center is required to have a certain number of surgeons and anesthesiologists on duty 24 hours a day at the hospital, an education program, in Newark, and University Behavioral HealthCare University Behavioral HealthCare (UBHC) is a provider of behavioral health (mental health and substance abuse) services, based in Piscataway, NJ. It is owned and run by the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. , a mental health and addiction services network. |
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