Nitric oxide

Abstract

Nitric oxide (NO) is a gaseous molecule with chemical formula NO. In biological systems, NO is produced from L-arginine by three distinct NO synthases (NOSs), two of which, neuronal (nNOS) and endothelial (eNOS), are calcium dependent, whereas inducible NOS (iNOS) is calcium independent. In the cerebellum, expressions of all types of NOS are observed in physiological and/or pathological conditions. Although recognized originally as the endothelium-derived relaxing factor (EDRF), it is now well recognized that NO is involved in a wide range of neurobiological functions such as neurogenesis, synaptic plasticity, cerebellar- dependent learning, neuroprotection and neuronal-cell death.