L-Arginine-NO pathway and CNS oxygen toxicity

The involvement of the L-arginine-nitric oxide (NO) pathway in the pathogenesis of hyperoxia-induced seizures was studied by using agents controlling NO levels. We selected two inhibitors of nitric oxide synthase, the systemic inhibitor N-omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) and the novel cerebral-specific inhibitor 7-nitroindazole, and two generators of NO, the NO donor S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine and the physiological precursor L-arginine. Rats with chronic cortical electrodes were injected intraperitoneally with different doses of one of the agents or their vehicles before exposure to 0.5 MPa O-2 and O-2 with 5% CO2 at an absolute pressure of 0.5 MPa. The duration of the latent period until the onset of electrical discharges in the electroencephalogram was used as an index of central nervous system O-2 toxicity. The two nitric oxide synthase inhibitors L-NAME and 7-nitroindazole significantly prolonged the latent period to the onset of seizures on exposure to both hyperbaric O-2 and to the hypercapnic-hyperoxic mixture. Pretreatment with the NO donor S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine significantly shortened the latent period, whereas L-arginine, the physiological precursor of NO, significantly prolonged the latent period to onset of seizures. Our results suggest that the L-arginine-NO pathway is involved in the pathophysiology of hyperoxia-induced seizures via various regulating mechanisms.