人体新的细胞间信息传递介质──一氧化氮(NO)研究进展

Progress in the Research on New Human Intercellular Information Transmission Mediator──Nitrogen Monoxide

NO是人们熟知的无机小分子化合物，但长期以来对其真正的生理功能却知之甚少。随着血管内皮衍生将张因子（EDRF）化学本质即NO的揭示，历经数年对NO的多学科研究，发现体内左旋精氨酸（L－Arg）：NO合成途径广泛存在，并对其重要的生物学作用也已取得共识。NO兼有第二信使物质和神经递质的功能，因此它是一种新的细胞间信息传递的重要介质。广泛参与生理功能的调节。结构如此简单的NO在人体发挥如些重要的作用这一事实使科学家们大为吃惊，这一发现不仅深化和拓宽了对某些疾病的认识和研究，而且对其发病学及治疗学的某些观点带来了变革。

Nitrogen monoxide is a very small inorganic com-pound has recently been discovered to possess veryimportant physiological activities. Multidisciplinary re-search on endothelium - derived relaxing factor(EDRF)proved that nitrogen monoxide is widely syn-thesized in the body through L-arginine pathway inthe presence of NO synthase. It is now a common un-derstanding that nitrogen monoxide plays the roles asa second messenger as well as a neurotransmitter. Itis a very important mediator for intercellular informa-tion transmission and widely participates in the regula-tion of physiological function. Having a very simplestructure, nitrogen monoxide plays such an importantroIe in biological activities. This discovery makes sci-entists amazed. The research area has been broad-ened and the knowledge of some diseases has deep-ened. As a result,changes in the idea of the pathogen-esis and therapeutics of some diseases have beenbrought about.Research on the mechanism of the action of nitro-gen monoxide will not only help to elucidate the physi-ological phenomena which are not yet fully under-stood,but also provide new ideas and approaches tothe prevention and treatment of many diseases.