SEMINAR

Just Say NO: Studying Nitric Oxide and Nitrosative Stress in Militarily-Relevant Settings

Kathy L. Ryan, PhD
Research Physiologist
U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research
Ft. Sam Houston, TX

Wednesday, November 6, 2002
3:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Red Metal Room - MUB

Abstract -

In 1980, a potent vasodilator molecule was described that was released by endothelial cells lining blood vessels. By 1987, it was known that this vasodilator was nitric oxide (NO), which was remarkable in that NO is a gas with a half-life of 5-10 seconds. Since then, NO has been the subject of intense interest (>50,000 papers and counting). We now know that NO plays a pivotal role in both normal physiological processes such as blood pressure control and in a multitude of pathological states including circulatory shock associated with sepsis, hemorrhage and heat stroke. While working for the US Air Force, our laboratory investigated the involvement of NO in mediating the circulatory shock induced by heat stress, produced by either environmental heating or exposure to radiofrequency radiation. Interestingly, we found that NO did not mediate the drop in blood pressure associated with heat stroke induced by either modality of heating, but there was evidence of profound nitrosative stress early in the heat exposure even before blood pressure began to decrease. Since moving to the US Army, we have redirected our efforts to study systemic NO and nitrosative stress following hindlimb tourniquet application in both the presence and absence of accompanying hemorrhage. In this seminar, I will discuss results from both Air Force and Army experiments, as an illustration of how basic physiological research may be important in producing solutions for real-world military problems.

Sponsored by: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Biological Sciences and the Visiting Women and Minority Lecturer/Scholar Series