Role of antioxidants in the protection of the nitrergic neurotransmitter

There is now compelling evidence that the L-arginine/nitric oxide (NO) pathway generates the non-adrenergic non-cholinergic (NANC) neurotransmitter which mediates smooth muscle relaxation in a variety of nitrergically-innervated tissues. However, one strange aspect of this nitrergic neurotransmission process is that certain drugs (i.e. superoxide generators and NO-scavengers) powerfully inhibit relaxations to exogenous NO, but have little or no effect on relaxations to electrical field stimulation. This thesis examined the possibility that in the nitrergically-innervated gastric fundus of the pig tissue antioxidants present in the neuroeffector junction might protect the endogenous nitrergic neurotransmitter (free radical NO) from attack by superoxide anions and scavenging activity, while exogenous NO would still be vulnerable before it reaches the nitrergic synapses within the tissue. We found that several antioxidants (in casu Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase, reduced glutathione, bilirubin) exerted a partial or complete protection of the relaxation induced by exogenous NO against the differentiating drugs under investigation. A close interrelationship between the endogenous nitrergic neurotransmitter and the antioxidants Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase and bilirubin (produced by the heme oxygenase/biliverdin reductase system) was corroborated by immunohistochemical data showing the presence of these latter defense systems in all nitrergic neurons. Pharmacological depletion further established a role for Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase in peripheral nitrergic neurotransmission. For glutathione, only a partial depletion could be obtained and this did not influence nitrergic neurotransmission.