We investigated the involvement of nitric oxide in transmural jejunal alterations induced by Trichinella spiralis (T. spiralis) infection in rats. Rats were gavaged with either saline or T.spiralis larvae, and, 1 h later, rats were treated orally with water, NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME; 30 mg/kg), or NG-nitro-D-arginine methyl ester (D-NAME; 30 mg/kg) on a daily basis. Although not observed in jejunum from uninfected rats, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) mRNA was present in the mucosa and neuromuscular layers of jejunum from T. spiralis-infected rats. On day 6, T. spiralis-infected rats had a 6-fold decrease in transmural nitric oxide synthase activity, an 11-fold increase in plasma nitrite, and a 7-fold elevation in transmural myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity compared with uninfected controls. Intestinal smooth muscle cell hyperplasia and hypertrophy were only detected in the infected rats. L-NAME, but not D-NAME, treatment of infected rats for 6 days caused a pronounced increase in transmural iNOS mRNA expression, coinciding with significantly increased mucosal nitric oxide synthase activity. T. spiralis numbers in L-NAME-treated rats were significantly lower compared with the other two infected groups although L-NAME had no direct effect on T. spiralis viability in vitro. Furthermore, L-NAME treatment significantly reduced plasma nitrite and jejunal MPO but not intestinal smooth muscle cell hyperplasia or hypertrophy. In contrast, D-NAME treatment of infected rats significantly enhanced intestinal smooth muscle hyperplasia and hypertrophy. Taken together, these results suggest that alterations in the T. spiralis-infected jejunum are mediated, in part, by a suppression of nitric oxide synthase activity in the inflamed jejunum.
Activation of Constitutive Nitric-oxide Synthase Activity Is an Early Signaling Event Induced by Ionizing Radiation
