The researchers showed that nitrite therapy conferred a dose-dependent cell protective effect in mouse models of I/R injury, limiting cell death and preserving organ function. These effects are NO-dependent. The data demonstrate that nitrite could be used therapeutically for I/R disease, as it is already known that nitrite is safe, and it is an approved treatment for cyanide poisoning.
Nitrite therapy could potentially be used to prevent organ dysfunction following I/R injury to the heart or vasculature resulting from surgery or transplantation. Nitrite may also serve an endogenous protective mechanism that protects cells from severe stress.
TITLE: Cytoprotective effects of nitrite during in vivo ischemia-reperfusion of the heart and liver
AUTHOR CONTACT:
David Lefer
LSU Health Sciences Center, Shreveport, LA USA
Phone: 318-675-6974; Fax: 318-675-4217; E-mail: dlefer@lsuhsc.edu
View the PDF of this article at: https://www.the-jci.org/article.php?id=22493
Journal of Clinical Investigation