Nephrogenic diabetes insipidus in mice lacking all nitric oxide synthase isoforms

Nitric oxide (NO) is produced in almost all tissues and organs, exerting a variety of biological actions under physiological and pathological conditions. NO is synthesized by three different isoforms of NO synthase (NOS), including neuronal, inducible, and endothelial NOSs. Because there are substantial compensatory interactions among the NOS isoforms, the ultimate roles of endogenous NO in our body still remain to be fully elucidated. Here, we have successfully developed mice in which all three NOS genes are completely deleted by crossbreeding singly NOS(-/-) mice. NOS expression and activities were totally absent in the triply NOS(-/-) mice before and after treatment with lipopolysaccharide. Although the triply NOS(-/-) mice were viable and appeared normal, their survival and fertility rates were markedly reduced as compared with the wild-type mice. Furthermore, these mice exhibited marked hypotonic polyuria, polydipsia, and renal unresponsiveness to an antidiuretic hormone, vasopressin, all of which are characteristics consistent with nephrogenic diabetes insipidus. In the kidney of the triply NOS(-/-) mice, vasopressin-induced cAMP production and membranous aquaporin-2 water channel expression were reduced associated with tubuloglomerular lesion formation. These results provide evidence that the NOS system plays a critical role in maintaining homeostasis, especially in the kidney

Evaluation of methylation status of the eNOS promoter at birth in relation to childhood bone mineral content

Our previous work has shown associations between childhood adiposity and perinatal methylation status of several genes in umbilical cord tissue, including endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS). There is increasing evidence that eNOS is important in bone metabolism; we therefore related the methylation status of the eNOS gene promoter in stored umbilical cord to childhood bone size and density in a group of 9-year-old children. We used Sequenom MassARRAY to assess the methylation status of two CpGs in the eNOS promoter, identified from our previous study, in stored umbilical cords of 66 children who formed part of a Southampton birth cohort and who had measurements of bone size and density at age 9 years (Lunar DPXL DXA instrument). Percentage methylation varied greatly between subjects. For one of the two CpGs, eNOS chr7:150315553 + , after taking account of age and sex, there were strong positive associations between methylation status and the child’s whole-body bone area (r = 0.28, P = 0.02), bone mineral content (r = 0.34, P = 0.005), and areal bone mineral density (r = 0.34, P = 0.005) at age 9 years. These associations were independent of previously documented maternal determinants of offspring bone mass. Our findings suggest an association between methylation status at birth of a specific CpG within the eNOS promoter and bone mineral content in childhood. This supports a role for eNOS in bone growth and metabolism and implies that its contribution may at least in part occur during early skeletal development

Nitric oxide signaling in mechanical adaptation of bone

One of the most serious healthcare problems in the world is bone loss and fractures due to a lack of physical activity in elderly people as well as in bedridden patients or otherwise inactive youth. Crucial here are the osteocytes. Buried within our bones, these cells are believed to be the mechanosensors that stimulate bone formation in the presence of mechanical stimuli and bone resorption in the absence of such stimuli. Intercellular signaling is an important physiological phenomenon involved in maintaining homeostasis in all tissues. In bone, intercellular communication via chemical signals like NO plays a critical role in the dynamic process of bone remodeling. If bones are mechanically loaded, fluid flows through minute channels in the bone matrix, resulting in shear stress on the cell membrane that activates the osteocyte. Activated osteocytes produce signaling molecules like NO, which modulate the activity of the bone-forming osteoblasts and the bone-resorbing osteoclasts, thereby orchestrating bone adaptation to mechanical loading. In this review, we highlight current insights in the role of NO in the mechanical adaptation of bone mass and structure, with emphasis on its role in local bone gain and loss as well as in remodeling supervised by osteocytes. Since mechanical stimuli and NO production enhance bone strength and fracture resistance, these new insights may facilitate the development of novel osteoporosis treatments