This review summarizes advances in nitric oxide synthase enzymology over the 20 years since the 1998 Nobel Prize, focusing on maturation, synthesis mechanisms, redox roles, and catalytic pathways.
This review briefly summarizes what was known about NOS enzymology at the time of the Nobel Prize award in 1998 and then discusses from the author's perspective some of the advances in NOS enzymology over the subsequent 20 years, focused on five aspects: the maturation process of NOS enzymes and its regulation; the mechanism of NO synthesis; the redox roles played by the 6R-tetrahydrobiopterin cofactor; the role of protein conformational behaviour in enabling NOS electron transfer and its regulation by NOS structural elements and calmodulin, and the catalytic cycling pathways of NOS enzymes and their influence on NOS activity. LINKED ARTICLES: This article is part of a themed section on Nitric Oxide 20 Years from the 1998 Nobel Prize. To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v176.2/issuetoc.
Stuehr et al. (2018) conducted a review in Nitric oxide synthase enzymology. This review summarizes advances in nitric oxide synthase enzymology over the 20 years since the 1998 Nobel Prize, focusing on maturation, synthesis mechanisms, redox roles, and catalytic pathways.