Characterization of reactive nitrogen species in allergic asthma

To investigate the molecular mechanism of reactive nitrogen species (RNS) in the pathogenesis of asthma and examine the use of fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) measurements in close conjunction with standard clinical assessments of asthma.

Through PubMed, Google Scholar, and Medline databases, a broad medical literature review was performed in the following areas of asthma pathobiology and management: allergic asthma, RNS, nitric oxide (NO), airway inflammation, and FENO.

Studies were selected based on the physiologic and pathophysiologic roles of RNS in relation to allergic asthma. Current evaluations on clinical applications of FENO in asthma treatment also were selected.

At the onset of an asthma attack, an enhanced production of NO strongly correlates with increase inducible NO synthase (NOS) activity, whereas endothelial NOS and neuronal NOS regulate primarily normal metabolic functions in the central and peripheral airways. During allergic inflammatory responses, NO and superoxide form peroxynitrite, which has deleterious effects in the respiratory tract. RNS directly accentuates airway inflammation and cytotoxicity through nitrosative stress. Moreover, the use of FENO to monitor eosinophilic-mediated airway inflammation is a potentially valuable assessment that supplements standard procedures to monitor the progression of asthma.

This review examines recent evidence implicating the molecular mechanisms of NO and NO-derived RNS in the pathobiology of asthma and suggests that monitoring FENO may markedly contribute to asthma diagnosis.