Table 3 Janus – faced properties of NO

From: Is type 2 diabetes mellitus a vascular disease (atheroscleropathy) with hyperglycemia a late manifestation? The role of NOS, NO, and redox stress.

GOOD	BAD
eNO, nNO	iNO *
Chromosomes 7,12	Chromosome 17
Duration: Seconds to minutes	Duration: Hours to days
Signaling molecule.	Killer molecule.
Regulated: small bursts	Unregulated: larger bursts and longer duration
Cytoprotective	Cytotoxic

*In host defense mechanisms iNO does just what we want it to, i.e. it kills invading organisms. Inducible NO can also be thought of as inflammatory NO. Paradoxically, in both acute and chronic inflammatory states iNO also kills the native hosts cells in the immediate surrounding area.

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