Nitric oxide and hypoxia signaling

Nitric oxide (NO) production is catalyzed by three distinct enzymes, namely, neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), inducible NOS (iNOS), and endothelial NOS (eNOS). The production of NO by vascular endothelium relies mainly on eNOS. Curiously, iNOS and nNOS also are relevant for vascular NO production in certain settings. By relaxing vascular smooth muscle, the classical view is that NO participates in O2 homeostasis by increasing local blood flow and O2 delivery. It is now appreciated that NO has an even more fundamental role in cellular oxygen sensing at the cellular and physiological level. A key component of cellular oxygen sensing is the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) that activates a transcriptional program to promote cellular survival under conditions of inadequate oxygen supply. Important new insights demonstrate that HIF protein is stabilized by two parallel pathways: (1) a decrease in the O2-dependent prolyl hydroxylation of HIF and (2) NO-dependent S-nitrosylation of HIF pathway components including HIF-α. The need for these two complementary pathways to HIF activation arises because decreased oxygen delivery can occur not only by decreased ambient oxygen but also by decreased blood oxygen-carrying capacity, as with anemia. In turn, NO production is tightly linked to O2 homeostasis. O2 is a key substrate for the generation of NO and impacts the enzymatic activity and expression of the enzymes that catalyze the production of NO, the nitric oxide synthases. These relationships manifest in a variety of clinical settings ranging from the unique situation of humans living in hypoxic environments at high altitudes to the common scenario of anemia and the use of therapeutics that can bind or release NO.