Nitric oxide in the mechanisms of brain impairment induced by the neurotoxic effect of glutamate

摘要

Nitric oxide (NO) is a gaseous chemical messenger which plays a role of universal modulator of a number of physiological functions of the organism including nervous system such as interncuronal communications, synaptic plasticity, memory formation, receptor function, intracellular signal transduction, release of neurotransmitters. This paper reviews a possible involvement of NO in a number of basic pathologies of the central nervous system linked with neurotoxic effect of glutamate (ischcmia, stroke, convulsive disorders, etc.). Under these conditions NO is believed to be a key pathophysiological factor. It was shown that NO generation in the rat brain cortex is significantly increased under convulsive states of various origin.