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Updated: Jul 30, 2026

Platelet-based Detection of Nitric Oxide in Blood by Measuring VASP Phosphorylation
Published on: January 7, 2019
The nitration of platelet cytosolic proteins during agonist-induced activation of platelets
K M Naseem1, S Y Low, M Sabetkar
1Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK. k.m.naseem@bradford.ac.uk
Abstract:
The nitration of protein tyrosine residues by peroxynitrous acid has been associated with pathological conditions. Here it is shown, using a sensitive competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunoblotting for nitrotyrosine, that spontaneous nitration of specific proteins occurs during a physiological process, the activation of platelets by collagen. One of the main proteins nitrated is vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein. Endogenous synthesis of nitric oxide and activity of cyclo-oxygenase were required for the nitration of tyrosine. The nitration was mimicked by addition of peroxynitrite to unstimulated platelets, although the level of nitrotyrosine formation was greater and its distribution among the proteins was less specific.
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