To understand the effects of nitric oxide on cholangiocyte secretion and biliary tract pathophysiology we have investigated: (1) the effects of proinflammatory cytokines on NO production and expression of the inducible nitric oxide synthase (NOS2), (2) the effects of NO on cAMP-dependent secretory mechanisms, and (3) the immunohistochemical expression of NOS2 in a number of human chronic liver diseases.
Thus, eNOS and iNOS proteins are differentially expressed in healthy human liver, and this expression is significantly altered in cirrhotic liver disorders.
We compared the inducible NO synthase (NOS2) expression in the liver of patients with chronic viral hepatitis with that of both nonviral liver disease and histologically normal liver.