Nitrite therapy for protection against ischemia-reperfusion injury

摘要

recent experimental evidence suggests that the anion nitrite represents an important storage form of nitric oxide (NO) that subsequently regulates a number of very important physiological activities (2-5,10). This is a radical concept because nitrite was largely considered to be a biologically inert breakdown product of NO that served no physiological purpose. In fact, circulating nitrite levels were used as an indirect method to assess alterations in circulating NO levels in various animal models for many years. The nitrite anion forms as a consequence of oxidation of NO and then accumulates in the blood compartment as well as in tissues (5, 10) (Fig. 1). Under conditions of acidosis, hypoxia, and tissue ischemia-#