Nitric oxid-sintetaza neuronală (aspecte imunohistochimice) | [Immunohistochemical aspects of neuronal nitric oxid synthase]

Abstract

Nitric oxide synthase (NOS), which generates the physiological messenger molecule nitric oxide (NO) and its associated NADPH diaphorase (NADPHd) activity, is distributed throughout selective neuronal populations in the central and peripheral nervous system. In the present study, immunohistochemical methods for NOS and histochemistry of NADPHd activity allowed us to observe that neuronal-NOS is present in non-pyramidal cortical neurons, in neurons in the olfactory bulb, in striatal neurons, in hypothalamic magnocellular neurons, in mesopontine neurons, and cerebellar interneurons. We consider that the histochemistry of nitric oxide-synthase may represent a valuable marker not only in normal conditions but also in neurochemical alterations observed in neural diseases, regeneration, and transplantation of nervous tissue.