Nitric oxide-cyclic GMP signaling in stem cell differentiation

Abstract

The nitric oxide-cyclic GMP (NO-cGMP) pathway mediates important physiological functions associated with various integrative body systems including the cardiovascular and nervous systems. Furthermore, NO regulates cell growth, survival, apoptosis, proliferation and differentiation at the cellular level. To understand the significance of the NO-cGMP pathway in development and differentiation, studies have been conducted both in developing embryos and stem cells. Manipulation of the NO-cGMP pathway by employing activators and inhibitors as pharmacological probes and/or genetic manipulation of NO signaling components has implicated the involvement of this pathway in regulation of stem cell differentiation. This review will focus on some of the work pertaining to the role of NO-cGMP in differentiation of stem cells into cells of various lineages particularly into myocardial cells and stem cell based therapy