Poisoned by Peroxynitrite.

[Scott1]

Hi,
I think we need to straighten a few things out here.
Nitric Oxide is NO. Nitrous Oxide is N2O and is sometimes called laughing gas. Nitrogen dioxide is NO2 and is an air pollutant formed from oxygen and nitric oxide.
NO is one molecule of nitrogen and one of oxygen. It is a gas and when formed naturally in the body is a signalling agent. It is critical for good health and is responsible for vasodilation and is integral to prevention of hypertension, limiting arterial plaques, modulating cholesterol, controlling bacterial infection, bone density and managing inflammation. It is in every cell, tissue and organ in your body.
Nitric oxide diffuses out of the endothelium into the smooth muscle of the artery.
The production of NO is triggered by three enzymes known as Nitric Oxide synthases. They are either constitutive such as endothelial (eNOS) and neuronal (nNOS) or inducible (iNOS).
The various forms of NOS oxidize L-arginine to produce NO.
There is a debate about the L-arginine efficiency as we age. Rather than talk about it, watch this and make up your own mind -

Peroxynitrite is the product formed by the interaction of NO and Superoxide. Normal oxygen gas in the body is O2 which is two molecules of oxygen. Superoxide is two molecules of oxygen with an extra electron. It has a negative charge and is what we call a free radical.
Combining NO and superoxide creates another free radical called peroxynitrite. This is a particularly troublesome product as it can disable the enzyme Glceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase. This is an acidic protein that acts as the major link between carbohydrate metabolism and lipid metabolism and is key in the breakdown of sugars when converting glucose to pryruvate. The energy released in that process forms ATP and that is required to drive the citric acid cycle.
A lack of ATP will prevent the correct exchange of sodium and potassium through the cell resulting in cells that are sodium clogged. That overload of sodium will also trigger the release of calcium into the cell from the sarcoplasmic reticulum signalling muscles to contract. The protein strands in the contracted muscles require ATP to signal them to release. As it is in short supply our muscles stay tight. If this process arises during a major inflammatory attack then it may be associated with a reperfusion injury which will result in some cells becoming denatured and some ion channels may be jammed open or shut.
The 1998 Nobel prize was awarded to three US researchers only six years after they published for their work on the role of Nitric Oxide. The gas was named the molecule of the century.
If you wish to learn more look up Louis Ignarro and the other researchers. He has written a simple book. If you wish to go bonkers read the work he edited called “Nitric Oxide: Biology and Pathobiology”. It is a very expensive book and a very solid read.
If you have been following a Wahls diet you will notice her emphasis on dark green leafy vegetables and Beets. She likes the nutritional angle but they also provide NO in abundance.
Regards,