Effect of hemodialysis on plasma nitric oxide levels

Nitric oxide (NO) is produced in excess in various pathological states, including sepsis and hepatic cirrhosis, and appears to be related to inflammatory status. In uremia, one would expect the levels of NO to increase. We aimed to determine whether hemodialysis (HD) would remove NO from the systemic circulation of uremic patients. Blood was collected before, after, and 1 day after HD from 12 uremic patients. Plasma nitrite and nitrate (NOx-) levels were measured by colorimetric Greiss reaction and cGMP was measured by an enzyme immunoassay kit. Our study demonstrated that uremic patients have high plasma NO levels, and HD led to a significant drop in plasma NOx- level (63 +/- 15% reduction). The level rose back to the pre-HD level on the following day. Plasma cGMP in the patients also decreased significantly after HD (27 +/- 14% reduction). In conclusion, we hypothesized that HD might be a possible approach for the removal of excess NO in pathological conditions such as sepsis and hepatic cirrhosis.