Nitric oxide: a newly discovered function on wound healing

• Published in: Acta pharmacologica Sinica Vol. 26; no. 3; pp. 259 - 264
• Main Authors: LUO, Jian‐dong, CHEN, Alex F
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Science Pty 01.03.2005; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: angiogenesis; Animals; Cell Proliferation - drug effects; Humans; inflammation; Inflammation - drug therapy; Neovascularization, Pathologic; nitric oxide; Nitric Oxide - physiology; Nitric Oxide - therapeutic use; Nitric Oxide Synthase - physiology; Nitric Oxide Synthase - therapeutic use; proliferation; wound healing; Wound Healing - physiology; Wounds and Injuries - drug therapy
• ISSN: 1671-4083; 1745-7254
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1745-7254.2005.00058.x

Wound healing impairment represents a particularly challenging clinical problem to which no efficacious treatment regimens currently exist. The factors ensuring appropriate intercellular communication during wound repair are not completely understood. Although protein‐type mediators are well‐established players in this process, emerging evidence from both animal and human studies indicates that nitric oxide (NO) plays a key role in wound repair. The beneficial effects of NO on wound repair may be attributed to its functional influences on angiogenesis, inflammation, cell proliferation, matrix deposition, and remodeling. Recent findings from in vitro and in vivo studies of NO on wound repair are summarized in this review. The unveiled novel mechanisms support the use of NO‐containing agents and/or NO synthase gene therapy as new therapeutic regimens for impaired wound healing.