nNOS polyclonal antibody

The diffusible free radical gas nitric oxide (NO) affects a variety of physiological functions, and is a key regulator of the cardiovascular, nervous, and immune systems. NO is synthesized in many tissues from L-arginine, oxygen, and NADPH by three known isoforms of a heme-containing flavoprotein termed NO synthase (nNOS/NOS-I, iNOS/NOS-II, and eNOS/NOS-III). nNOS is a constitutively expressed neuronal NOS isoform that exits in its latent form until it is activated by the binding of calmodulin follo wing elevation of intracellular calcium levels. The C-terminus of nNOS contains a conserved serine residue, Ser1417, analogous to Ser1177 of the constitutively expressed endothelial NOS isoform (eNOS). Phosphorylation of Ser1417 is believed to regulate nNOS activation, particularly in glucose-sensing neurons, where inhibition of AMPK pathways by glucose and leptin serve to suppress nNOS activity, whereas activation of AMPK by insulin leads to nNOS activation.