Involvement of nitric oxide synthesis in hepatic perturbations induced in rats by a necrogenic dose of thioacetamide

Abstract
The biological actions of nitric oxide (NO), a highly diffusible and short‐lived radical, range from signal transduction to cytotoxicity. The present study investigated whether NO is released in the course of liver necrosis and regeneration induced by a single necrogenic dose of thioacetamide (6.6 mmol kg−1 body wt) to rats. Samples of liver were obtained at 0, 3, 12, 24, 48, 72 and 96 h after thioacetamide administration. Inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) activity was determined in purified liver homogenates and a sharp 6 fold increase (PPPPPPPBritish Journal of Pharmacology (1997) 121, 820–826; doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0701191