Nitric oxide as a signal in thyroid.

It is now well established that agonist activation of the PIP2/calcium cascade in the thyroid results in the enhancement of cGMP accumulation presumably by activation of the soluble guanylate cyclase. In many tissues the physiological signal controlling soluble guanylate cyclase is nitric oxide (NO) and its synthesis from arginine is controlled by the intracellular Ca2+. In this report we show results that suggest that NO may be the intermediate of the cGMP response to the activation of the PIP2/calcium cascade. In dog thyroid slices, incubation with carbamylcholine or A23187 increases significantly free intracellular Ca2+ levels and the cGMP content of the slices. NG-Monomethyl-L-arginine (NMMA), a competitive inhibitor of arginine for nitric oxide synthase, inhibited these cGMP responses but not the action of sodium nitroprusside which activates soluble guanylate cyclase directly. The inhibition was relieved by arginine. Methylene blue, which blocks the activation of soluble guanylate cyclase by NO, also decreased the three stimulatory effects. NMMA and methylene blue also decreased the basal levels of cGMP. NO may therefore be an important autocrine and paracrine factor in thyroid.