• Development and Reproduction
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.157-164
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• 1997

To study the regulation of porcine follicular cell apostosis by gonadotropin, steroid, and nitric oxide, we analyzed DNA fragmentation, the hallmark of apoptosis, and nitrite production of porcine granulosa cells. Dissected indiidual follicles from ovary were separated in size (small, 2-3 mm; medium, 5-6 mm; large, 7-8 mm) and isolated granulosa cells were classified morpholocally as atretic or nonatretic. Nitrite concentration was measured by mixing follicular fluids with an equal volume of Griess reagent. Follicular nitric oxide (NO) concentration of healthy follicles was higher than that of atretic follicles. Apoptotic DNA fragmentation was suppressed in non-apoptotic granulosa cells. Follicular apoptosis was induced by androgen but prevented by gonadotropin in vitro. Apoptosis was confined to the granulosa cells. But it was not clear whether apoptosis of granulosa cells were isolated, incubated with or without gonadotropin, androgen and sodium nitroprusside (SNP), respectively at $37^{\circ}C$ for 24 hrs. Cultured granulosa cells were used to extract genomic DNA and culture media was asssayed for nitrite concentration. Nitrite production of culture media was increased, while apoptotic DNA fragmentation was suppressed in PMSG, hCG, testosterone+SNP and SNP treated groups. Nitrite concentration in culture media was decreased, but apoptotic DNA fragmentation was induced in testosterone treated group. These data suggest that NO production and apoptosis may be involved of granulosa cell apoptosis induced by testosterone.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.85-89
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• 2003

The basic mechanism for the excitation of the peripheral vestibular receptors following acute hypotension induced by sodium nitroprusside (SNP) or hemorrhage was investigated in anesthetized rats. Electrical activity of the afferent vestibular nerve was measured after pretreatment with kynurenic acid, an NMDA receptor antagonist. The activity of the vestibular nerve at rest following acute hypotension induced by SNP or simulating hemorrhage was a greater increase than in control animals. The gain of the vestibular nerve with sinusoidal rotation following acute hypotension increased significantly compared to control animals. The acute hypotension induced by SNP or hemorrhage did not change the activity of the afferent vestibular nerve after kynurenic acid injection. These results suggest that acute hypotension produced excitation of the vestibular hair cells via glutamate excitotoxicity in response to ischemia.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.133-139
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• 2005

Cobrotoxin, a venom of Vipera lebetina turanica, is a group of basic peptidescomposed of 233 amino acids with six disulfide bonds formed by twelve cysteins. NF-kB is activated by subsequent release of inhibitory IkB and translocation of p50. Since sulfhydryl group is present in kinase domain of p50 subunit of NF-kB, cobrotoxin could modify NF-kB activity by protein-protein interaction. We therefore examined effect of cobrotoxin on NF-kB activities in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and sodium nitroprusside (SNP)-stimulated Raw 264.7 mouse macrophages. Cobrotoxin suppressed the LPS and SNP-induced release of IkB and p50 translocation resulted in inhibition of DNA binding activity of NF-kB. Inhibition of NF-kB resulted in reduction of the LPS and SNP-induced production of inflammatory mediators NO and PGE2 generation. The inhibitory effect of cobrotoxin on the NF-kB activity were blocked by addition of reducing agents dithiothreitol and glutathione. These results demonstrate that cobrotoxin inhibits activation of NF-kB, and suggest that pico to nanomolar range of cobrotoxin could inhibit the expression of genes in the NF-kB signal pathway.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 1998.11a
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• pp.141-141
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• 1998

In order to study the effect of nitric oxide on the regulation of mouse cyplal expression, 5' flanking DNA of mouse cytochrome P450 lal was cloned into pGL3 basic vector encoding luciferase gene. pcyplal-Luc was transfected into Hepa I cells and various chemicals were treated. Luciferase activity was stimulated 1000 folds over that of control by TCDD (2,3,7,8-tetrachloro-p-dioxin) treatment and this stimulation was dose dependent. When SNP (sodium nitroprusside) which donates nitric oxide was administrated, this stimulatory effect of TCDD on luciferase activity was decreased. And LPS (lipopolysaccharide) which is an iNOS (inducible nitric oxide synthase) inducer also decreased the stimulatory effect of TCDD on luciferase. And iNOS inhibitor N$\^$G/-nitro-ι-arginine + TCDD treatment increased the stimulation effect of TCDD and this effect was abolished when ι-arginine was added to N$\^$G/-nitro-ι-arginine + TCDD treatment. When N$\^$G/-nitro-ι-arginine was concomitantly administrated with SNP or LPS to confirm the effect of nitric oxide, the inhibitory effect of SNP or LPS was abolished. These data strongly suggest that nitric oxide might be an inhibitory regulator on the cytochrome P450 lal gene expression in Hepa cells.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.1 no.6
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• pp.731-739
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• 1997

The aim of present study is to investigate the effects of cGMP on hyperpolarization activated inward current ($I_f$), pacemaker current of the heart, in rabbit sino-atrial node cells using the whole-cell patch clamp technique. When sodium nitroprusside (SNP, $80{\mu}M$), which is known to activate guanylyl cyclase, was added, $I_f$ amplitude was increased and its activation was accelerated. However, when $I_f$ was prestimulated by isopreterenol (ISO, $1{\mu}M$), SNP reversed the effect of ISO. In the absence of ISO, SNP shifted activation curve rightward. On the contrary in the presence of ISO, SNP shifted activation curve in opposite direction. $8Br-cGMP(100\;{\mu}M)$, more potent PKG activator and worse PDE activator than cGMP, also increased basal $I_f$ but did not reverse stimulatory effect of ISO. It was probable that PKG activation seemed to be involved in SNP-induced basal $I_f$ increase. The fact that SNP inhibited ISO-stimulated $I_f$ suggested cGMP antagonize cAMP action via the activation of PDE. This possibility was supported by experiment using 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX), non-specific PDE inhibitor. SNP did not affect $I_f$ when $I_f$ was stimulated by $20{\mu}M$ IBMX. Therefore, cGMP reversed the stimulatory effect of cAMP via cAMP breakdown by activating cGMP-stimulated PDE. These results suggest that PKG and PDE are involved in the modulation of $I_f$ by cGMP: PKG may facilitate $I_f$ and cGMP-stimulated PDE can counteract the stimulatory action of cAMP.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.20 no.12
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• pp.1509-1519
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• 2011

The protective effect of nitric oxide (NO) on the antioxidant system under paraquat(PQ) stress was investigated in leaves of 8-week-old lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) plants. PQ stress caused a decrease of leaf growth including leaf length, width and weight. Application of NO donor, sodium nitroprusside (SNP), significantly alleviated PQ stress induced growth suppression. SNP permitted the survival of more green leaf tissue preventing chlorophyll content reduction and of higher quantum yield for photosystem II than in non-treated controls under PQ exposure, suggesting that NO has protective effect on chloroplast membrane in lettuce leaves. Flavonoids and anthocyanin were significantly accumulated in the leaves upon PQ exposure. However, the rapid increase of these compounds was alleviated in the SNP treated leaves. PQ treatment resulted in lipid peroxidation and induced accumulation of hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$) in the leaves, while SNP prevented PQ induced increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) and $H_2O_2$. These results demonstrate that SNP serves as an antioxidant agent able to scavenge $H_2O_2$ to protect plant cells from oxidative damage. The activities of two antioxidant enzymes that scavenge reactive oxygen species, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) in lettuce leaves in the presence of NO donor under PQ stress were higher than those under PQ stress alone. Application of 2-(4-carboxyphenyl)-4, 4, 5, 5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide (PTIO), a specific NO scavenger, to the lettuce leaves arrested SNP mediated protective effect on leaf growth, photosynthetic pigment and antioxidant systems. However, PTIO had little effect on lettuce leaves under PQ stress compared with that of PQ stress alone. The obtained data suggest that the damage caused by PQ stress is in part due to increased generation of active oxygen by maintaining increased antioxidant enzyme activities and SNP protects plants from oxidative stress. From these results it is suggested that NO might act as a signal in activating active oxygen scavenging system that protects plants from oxidative damage induced by PQ stress and thus confer PQ tolerance.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.1 s.69
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• pp.198-210
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• 2007

Objectives : Nitric oxide(NO) is a reactive free radical and a messenger molecule in many physiological functions. However, excessive release NO of induces neurotoxicity. We investigated whether a mixture of red ginseng and paeonia radix prossesses a protective effect against sodium nitroprusside(SNP)-induced apoptosis in the human neuroblastoma cell line SK-N-MC. Methods : We performed 3- (4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide(MTT) assay, 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole(DAPD) staining, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase(TdT)-mediated dUTP nick end labeling(TUNEL)assay, DNA fragmentation assay, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR), Western blot analysis, and caspase-3 enzyme activity assay in SK-N-HFC cells. Result : MTT assay showed that SNP treatment significantly reduced the viabilities of cells and that pre-treatment with the red ginseng and paeonia radix mixture alleviated SNP-induced cytotoxicity. The cells treated with SNP exhibited several apoptotic features, while those pre-treated fir 1 h with the mixture of red ginseng and paeonia radix 1 h prior to SNP expose showed reduced apoptotic features. In addition, the cells pre-treated with the red ginseng and paeonia radix mixture for 1 h prior to SNP expose increased bel-2 expressions, decreased Bax expressions, and decreased caspase-3 enzyme activity. Conclusions : These results show that the red ginseng and paeonia radix mixture exerts a protective effect against SNP-induced apoptosis in SK-N-MC cells.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.77-90
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• 2003

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Bee Venom on the lipopolysaccharide(LPS), sodium nitroprusside(SNP), hydrogen peroxide($H_2O_2$)-induced expressions of cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2), p38, jun N-terminal Kinase(JNK) and extra-signal response kinase(ERK) in RAW 264.7 cells, a murine macrophage cell line. Method : The expressions of COX-2, p38, JNK and ERK were determined by western blotting with corresponding antibodies. Results : 1. The 0.5, 1 and $5\;{\mu}g/ml$ of bee venom inhibited significantly LPS and SNP-induced expression of COX-2 compared with control, respectively. The 0.5, 1 and $5\;{\mu}g/ml$ of bee venom inhibited insignificantly $H_2O_2$-induced expression of COX-2 compared with control, respectively. 2. The 0.5, 1 and $5\;{\mu}g/ml$ of bee venom inhibited significantly LPS, SNP and $H_2O_2$-induced expression of p38 compared with control, respectively. 3. The 1 and $5\;{\mu}g/ml$ of bee venom inhibited significantly SNP-induced expression of JNK compared with control, respectively. All of bee venom inhibited insignificantly LPS and $H_2O_2$-induced expression of JNK compared with control, respectively. 4. The $5\;{\mu}g/ml$ of bee venom inhibited significantly SNP-induced expression of ERK, the $0.5\;{\mu}g/ml$ of bee venom increased significantly $H_2O_2$-induced expression of ERK compared with control. The 0.5, 1 and $5\;{\mu}g/ml$ of bee venom inhibited insignificantly LPS-induced expression of ERK compared with control, respectively.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.229-236
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• 2014

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitrogen species (RNS) are implicated in cellular signaling processes and as a cause of oxidative stress. Recent studies indicate that ROS and RNS are important signaling molecules involved in nociceptive transmission. Xanthine oxidase (XO) system is a well-known system for superoxide anions ($O{_2}^{{\cdot}_-}$) generation, and sodium nitroprusside (SNP) is a representative nitric oxide (NO) donor. Patch clamp recording in spinal slices was used to investigate the role of $O{_2}^{{\cdot}_-}$ and NO on substantia gelatinosa (SG) neuronal excitability. Application of xanthine and xanthine oxidase (X/XO) compound induced membrane depolarization. Low concentration SNP ($10{\mu}M$) induced depolarization of the membrane, whereas high concentration SNP (1 mM) evoked membrane hyperpolarization. These responses were significantly decreased by pretreatment with phenyl N-tert-butylnitrone (PBN; nonspecific ROS and RNS scavenger). Addition of thapsigargin to an external calcium free solution for blocking synaptic transmission, led to significantly decreased X/XO-induced responses. Additionally, X/XO and SNP-induced responses were unchanged in the presence of intracellular applied PBN, indicative of the involvement of presynaptic action. Inclusion of GDP-${\beta}$-S or suramin (G protein inhibitors) in the patch pipette decreased SNP-induced responses, whereas it failed to decrease X/XO-induced responses. Pretreatment with n-ethylmaleimide (NEM; thiol-alkylating agent) decreased the effects of SNP, suggesting that these responses were mediated by direct oxidation of channel protein, whereas X/XO-induced responses were unchanged. These data suggested that ROS and RNS play distinct roles in the regulation of the membrane excitability of SG neurons related to the pain transmission.

• The korean journal of orthodontics
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.465-473
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• 2006

Objective: This study evaluated the effects of nitric oxide (NO) on the proliferation and differentiation of human periodontal ligament cells involved in orthodontic tooth movement. Methods: A range of concentrations of sodium nitroprusside (SNP), a NO donor, were administered to samples of human periodontal ligament cells, followed by measurement of cell viability, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, and expression of osteonectin and bone sialoprotein. Results: Cell viability, ALP activity and the expression of osteonectin and bone sialoprotein were increased in human periodontal ligament cells treated with SNP concentrations of < 0.2 mM compared with controls, but were decreased with SNP concentrations of > 1.0 mM. Conclusion: NO has a biphasic effect on proliferation and differentiation in human periodontal ligament cells, with a stimulatory effect at low concentrations and an inhibitory effect at high concentrations.