Additional Nitric Oxide Compounds: Products

Nitric Oxide (NO) is a gaseous free radical with a short half-life in vivo of a few seconds or less. It is a pleiotropic biological mediator that regulates diverse activities ranging from neuronal function to immune system regulation. NO is catalyzed by enzymes of the Nitric Oxide Synthase (NOS) family, which include neuronal NOS (nNOS/NOS1), inducible NOS (iNOS/NOS2), and endothelial NOS (eNOS/NOS3). NO is lipid soluble, so it is not stored by synthesized de novo and freely diffuses across lipid membranes. NO mediates its effects on target cells via several different mechanisms. For instance, NO can activate Guanylyl Cyclase, which catalyzes the formation of the second messenger cGMP.