Nitroarginine Explained

Nitroarginine, or N^ω-nitro--arginine, also known as L-NOARG, is a nitro derivative of the amino acid arginine.^[1] It is an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase and hence a vasoconstrictor. As such, it finds widespread use as a biochemical tool in the study of nitric oxide and its biological effects.^[2]

Nitroarginine has been used in research studying coronary constriction, and it was found that, in the presence of midazolam vasodilatation was unaffected by nitroarginine.^[3] Due to the presence of all three isoforms of nitric oxide synthase in striatal tissue in the forebrain, research has also been conducted on how its inhibition might affect monoamine transport and dopamine half-life in the striatal extracellular space.^[4]

Notes and References

1. Moore. P. K.. Al‐Swayeh. O. A.. Chong. N. W. S.. Evans. R. A.. Gibson. A.. 1990. l-NG-nitro arginine (l-NOARG), a novel, l-arginine-reversible inhibitor of endothelium-dependent vasodilatation in vitro. British Journal of Pharmacology. en. 99. 2. 408–412. 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1990.tb14717.x. 1476-5381. 1917379. 2328404.
2. 10.1007/BF00966685 . Chronic administration of a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, N^ω-nitro-L-arginine, and drug-induced increase in cerebellar cyclic GMP in vivo . Bansinath M, Arbabha B, Turndorf H, Garg UC . Neurochemical Research . 1993 . 18 . 10 . 1063–6 . 7504789. 2447933 .
3. N-nitro L-arginine causes coronary vasoconstriction and inhibits endothelium-dependent vasodilatation in anaesthetized greyhounds. O.L. Woodman . G.J. Dusting . Br. J. Pharmacol. . 1991 . 103 . 1407–1410 . 1909199 . 2 . 1908370 . 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1991.tb09802.x.
4. Prieto. Sonia Guerrero. Silva. João Carlos dos Santos. de Lima. Mairon Oliveira. Almeida. Maria Camila. Echeverry. Marcela Bermúdez. February 2019. Cross-tolerance between nitric oxide synthase inhibition and atypical antipsychotics modify nicotinamide-adenine-dinucleotide phosphate-diaphorase activity in mouse lateral striatum. Behavioural Pharmacology. en. 30. 1. 67–78. 10.1097/FBP.0000000000000406. 0955-8810. 29664745. 4933721. Ovid.