Barbora
Piknova1, Ara Kocharyan2, Alan N. Schechter1,
Afonso C. Silva2
1National Institute of Diabetes and
Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD,
United States; 2National Institute of Neurological Disorders and
Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
In
addition to classic role of vasodilator, nitric oxide (NO) also acts as a
neurotransmitter. NO role in neurovascular coupling and the possibility to
restore the proper brain hemodynamics after its impairment in various
NO-deficiency related diseases is of major importance. We studied the fMRI
response to forepaw stimulation on -chloralose anesthetized Sprague-Dawley
rats at baseline, with NO production attenuated by nNOS inhibition and after
NO and nitrite distribution. We found that exogenous NO and nitrite restore
neurovascular response and that nitrite is more effective than direct NO
donor. We hypothesize about additional vasodilatory pathways in case of
nitrite metabolism.