A molecular machine at work

Researchers unravel the assembly of an enzyme that detoxifies the greenhouse gas N₂O

05-Aug-2022 - The greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O) is produced as a by-product of industrial processes and through the use of fertilizers in agriculture. It is making a steadily growing contribution to climate change and the depletion of the ozone layer. It is so chemically unreactive that it remains in the ...

A tiny molecule with a big impact

Immunologists have deciphered a new role of nitric oxide in the defense against pathogens.

26-Oct-2021 - Nitric oxide (NO) occurs naturally in the human body as a messenger substance. It is considered an all-rounder, as it performs numerous important regulatory functions, including immune defense against pathogens. The exact mode of action of this molecule has now been uncovered by immunologist ...

Cellular Communication Agent

Tracking the NO signaling pathway

26-Aug-2021 - Both nitric oxide (NO) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) act as gaseous signaling molecules with similar physiological effects. Many of the critical questions about the interplay between these two gasotransmitters hinge on their chemical reactivity and the fleeting existence of HSNO, a key product of ...

Nitric oxide may slow progression of COVID-19

A recent review suggests that nitric oxide has promise as a therapeutic to control the replication and rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2

23-Jul-2020 - Nitric oxide treatment can be pivotal in the world's fight against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, according to a review from the George Washington University (GW). Nitric oxide is an antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory molecule with key roles in pulmonary vascular function in ...

Wily pathogens

Researchers have identified a new mechanism that pathogens use to colonize mucosal membranes

19-May-2020 - Specialized pathogens do not only passively stick to the human mucosa. As a research team at the University of Konstanz has now discovered, they also use the gas nitric oxide (NO) to communicate with their host at short distances to reinforce a firm anchoring of the infected cells in the mucosal ...

Better protection of the eye from glaucoma

30-May-2018 - Under the increased pressure of glaucoma, scientists want to help the neurons in our eyes better protect themselves and get better help from their friends. They are working to see whether agents that activate the innate neuron protector sigma 1 receptor, or S1R, can do both. Current glaucoma ...

Deciphering the 'mosaic' of the brain

Discovery sheds new light on how neurodegenerative diseases might occur

11-Apr-2018 - Researchers from the University of Leicester have shed new light on how neurons in the brain communicate with one another. This could potentially help in our understanding of how and why a range of neurodegenerative diseases occur. The team, led by Dr Joern Steinert from the MRC Toxicology Unit ...

Rapid rise in nitric oxide increases heart attack risk

19-Feb-2018 - There is longstanding evidence that the presence of high levels of air pollutants in the atmosphere in particular nitrogen oxides are harmful to health causing respiratory problems and increasing the risk of a heart attack. In a current study published in the European Journal of Preventive ...

Chemo-boosting drug discovered for leukemia

04-Sep-2017 - Drugs developed to treat heart and blood vessel problems could be used in combination with chemotherapy to treat an aggressive form of adult leukemia, new research led by the Francis Crick Institute reveals. In a study published in Cancer Cell, researchers at the Francis Crick Institute, King's ...

Nitric oxide-releasing nanoparticles reveals viable skin infection treatment

02-Aug-2017 - George Washington University (GW) researchers have found that topically applied nitric oxide-releasing nanoparticles (NO-np) are a viable treatment for deep fungal infections of the skin caused by dermatophytes, for which the current standard of care is treatment with systemic ...