SNOR and wheeze: the asthma enzyme?

Trends Mol Med. 2005 Nov;11(11):481-4. doi: 10.1016/j.molmed.2005.09.009. Epub 2005 Oct 7.

Abstract

Conventionally, asthma is defined as involving both airway inflammation and airway smooth muscle hyper-responsiveness. However, Que and coworkers have recently uncoupled these concepts, showing that mice lacking an S-nitrosothiol reductase have allergen-induced airway inflammation but do not have airway hyper-responsiveness. These data are consistent with recent clinical evidence that: (i) S-nitrosothiol signaling is abnormal in human asthma, (ii) nitric oxide in exhaled air might be only a biomarker for the metabolism of more physiologically relevant nitrogen oxides and (iii) the biochemical response to airway inflammation is central to asthma pathophysiology.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Alcohol Dehydrogenase
  • Animals
  • Asthma / enzymology*
  • Glutathione Reductase / metabolism*
  • Humans
  • Mice
  • Models, Biological*
  • Nitric Oxide / metabolism*
  • Nitric Oxide Synthase / metabolism*
  • Signal Transduction / physiology*

Substances

  • Nitric Oxide
  • Adh5 protein, mouse
  • Alcohol Dehydrogenase
  • Nitric Oxide Synthase
  • Glutathione Reductase