Böhme G A, Bon C, Lemaire M, Reibaud M, Piot O, Stutzmann J M, Doble A, Blanchard J C
Rhône-Poulenc Rorer S.A., Centre de Recherches de Vitry-Alfortville, Vitry-Sur-Seine, France.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1993 Oct 1;90(19):9191-4. doi: 10.1073/pnas.90.19.9191.
Nitric oxide (NO) is a messenger molecule that is produced in the brain from the metabolism of L-arginine to L-citrulline. Growing evidence suggests a physiological role for NO in long-term potentiation (LTP). Since LTP is a form of synaptic plasticity thought to be involved in learning and memory, we have tested whether inhibition of endogenous NO production affects memory capacities of rats. We found that the NO synthase [L-arginine, NADPH:oxygen oxidoreductase (nitric oxide-forming), EC 1.14.13.39] inhibitor N omega-nitro-L-arginine, at doses blocking LTP in hippocampal slices, impairs spatial learning in a radial arm maze and olfactory memory in a social recognition test. In contrast, N omega-nitro-L-arginine left shock-avoidance learning unaffected. These results indicate that NO is involved in some but not all forms of memory and further support the existence of a causal link between LTP and spatial learning.
一氧化氮（NO）是一种信使分子，它在大脑中由L-精氨酸代谢为L-瓜氨酸的过程中产生。越来越多的证据表明，NO在长时程增强（LTP）中具有生理作用。由于LTP是一种突触可塑性形式，被认为与学习和记忆有关，我们测试了抑制内源性NO生成是否会影响大鼠的记忆能力。我们发现，NO合酶[L-精氨酸，NADPH：氧氧化还原酶（生成一氧化氮），EC 1.14.13.39]抑制剂Nω-硝基-L-精氨酸，在阻断海马切片中LTP的剂量下，会损害大鼠在放射状臂迷宫中的空间学习能力以及在社会识别测试中的嗅觉记忆。相比之下，Nω-硝基-L-精氨酸对回避电击学习没有影响。这些结果表明，NO参与了某些但并非所有形式的记忆，并进一步支持了LTP与空间学习之间存在因果联系的观点。
