Yes absolutely it does and, in fact, the paper mentioned the peroxynitrite hypothesis. There are two NO producing enzymes; ironically separate theories positive one is up (iNOS) and one is down (eNOS). I don't know if they are mutually exclusive or not.
I was reading a about nitric oxide quite recently, and since the info is still floating about in my brain, I thought I'd throw out a few things:
The
iNOS enzyme (inducible nitric oxide synthase) is induced (created) by the immune system as an when needed. The immune system uses iNOS to make nitric oxide (NO) simply because nitric oxide is a potent antiviral and antibacterial agent. So it makes sense that in CFS, iNOS is thought to be high, as the body is constantly fighting off viruses and bacteria, and often uses nitric oxide to do this.
The
eNOS enzyme (epithelial nitric oxide synthase) is used to make nitric oxide for a different purpose: to contract and dilate the blood vessels. That eNOS is thought to be down in CFS probably corresponds to the cold hands and feet symptoms, and may relate to the generally impeded blood flow in CFS.
There is also a third type of nitric oxide generating enzyme in the body called
nNOS (neuronal nitric oxide synthase), which is produced in the brain. In the brain, nitric oxide acts as a signaling molecule (a neurotransmitter), and an important one. Maternal bonding behavior with newborns / offspring is triggered by nitric oxide in the brain, and experimentally inhibiting brain nitric oxide will prevent the natural bonding behavior animals exhibit towards their newborns from occurring.
So nitric oxide has multiple uses and functions in the body.
Incidentally, Dave Whitlock has an
interesting theory that autism and CFS are underpinned by
low nitric oxide in the brain. He thinks that low brain nitric oxide causes the behavioral changes found in autism, and to an extent, in CFS too.
In addition, apparently, ambient nitric oxide levels control the rate of
mitochondrial biogenesis - the producing of new mitochondria and replacement and removal of the older mitochondria in cells. Whitlock says that mitochondria in cells have a normal lifespan of a few months, and they get regularly replaced because they wear out pretty quickly.
When mitochondria wear out, they become leaky (leaking out protons, which then lead to more reactive oxygen species being produced in the cell) and much less efficient. So there needs to be a constant process of creating new mitochondrial, and replacement and removal of the older ones in the cell (otherwise cellular production is impaired, and the amount of damaging reactive oxygen species being created in the cell goes up).
Whitlock thinks that the supposed mitochondrial problems in CFS / autism come from a
lowered rate of turnover of mitochondria, simply due (according to Whitlock) to levels of nitric oxide being low (since the nitric oxide level sets the mitochondrial turnover rate). This lowered turnover means that we are not replacing the old and leaky mitochondria.
In others words, people with CFS / autism may be going around with damaged mitochondria, because their mitochondria are not getting renewed, due to low nitric oxide.
Certainly a very intriguing idea.
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