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6-n-Propyl-2-thiouracil (6-PTU), the antithyroid agent, produces a time-, concentration-, and turnover-dependent inactivation of the NO synthetic capability of the neuronal nitric oxide synthase isoform irreversible by either arginine or (6R)-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-L-biopterin. By contrast 6-PTU produces an inhibition of the cytokine-inducible and endothelial nitric oxide synthases fully reversible by arginine. The inactivation of neuronal nitric oxide synthase by 6-PTU follows first order kinetics, and is inhibited competitively by both arginine and (6R)-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-L-biopterin, but is not accompanied by either a loss of heme-CO binding, heme fluorescence, or disassembly of dimeric structure. 2-Thiouracil behaves qualitatively identically to 6-PTU. Turnover-dependent inactivation of neuronal nitric oxide synthase by [2-14C]-2-thiouracil is accompanied by incorporation of radioactivity into the polypeptide chain. Ca2+-dependent NO formation by GH3 pituitary cells is inhibited by 6-PTU in a manner enhanced by depletion of either extracellular arginine or intracellular (6R)-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-L-biopterin. These observations establish that 6-PTU is an alternate substrate, mechanism-based inactivator of the neuronal nitric oxide synthase isoform with the ability to suppress cellular NO formation.

C(60)-Fullerene trisamine adducts inhibit neuronal nitric oxide synthase and calcineurin phosphatase activities in a manner completely reversible by calmodulin. As measured by difference spectroscopy, D(3)-trisamine and C(3)-semiamine fullerene adducts displace trifluoperazine bound to calmodulin coincident with their binding. These binding events are complete at a molar ratio of 4 mol added fullerene per mole calmodulin. Trisamine fullerene adducts alter the native electrophoretic mobility of calmodulin, producing a heterogeneity of bands with associated fullerene. D(3)- and C(3)-trisamine fullerene adducts interact with dansylated calmodulin, producing a 50% loss of maximal fluorescence at concentrations of 30 nM. At higher concentrations than those required to inhibit neuronal nitric oxide synthase, trisamine fullerene adducts inhibit nitric oxide formation by the cytokine-inducible nitric oxide synthase isoform. These inhibitions are fully reversible by calmodulin and skeletal muscle troponin C but not by skeletal muscle parvalbumin. Of the trisamine fullerene adducts tested only the C(3)- and D(3)-semiamine adducts inhibit Ca(2+)-dependent nitric oxide production in GH(3) pituitary cells. These observations support the proposal that trisamine C(60)-fullerene adducts are potent calmodulin antagonists, some of which display activity in intact cellular systems.

C(60)-Fullerene monomalonate adducts inactivate selectively the neuronal nitric oxide synthase isoform in a manner completely preventable by the concurrent presence of superoxide dismutase and catalase. This inactivation is time-, fullerene concentration-, and turnover-dependent and is not reversible by dilution. The di(carboxypropan-3-ol)methano-[60]-fullerene (diol adduct) has no effect on NADPH consumption by nNOS as measured in the absence of arginine substrate, but dramatically increases NADPH consumption in the presence of arginine. This fullerene-enhanced NADPH consumption is linked to oxygen as electron acceptor and is accompanied by the increased production of hydrogen peroxide. These effects of fullerene monomalonate adducts are unique to the nNOS isoform and are not observed using either the iNOS or the eNOS isoform. The inhibitory effects of fullerene monomalonate adducts are unaltered and insurmountable by increased concentrations of arginine, tetrahydrobiopterin, or calmodulin. These observations indicate that fullerene monomalonate adducts uncouple in the presence of arginine the formation of reactive oxygen intermediates from NO production by nNOS. These reactive oxygen intermediates dissociate from the enzyme and, acting from solution, inactivate NOS NO forming activity.

C(3)-tris-malonyl-C(60)-fullerene and D(3)-tris-malonyl-C(60)-fullerene derivatives inhibit citrulline and NO formation by all three nitric oxide synthase isoforms in a manner fully reversible by dilution. The inhibition of citrulline formation by C(3)-tris-malonyl-C(60)-fullerene occurs with IC(50) values of 24, 17, and 123 microM for the neuronal, endothelial, and inducible nitric oxide synthase (NOS) isoforms, respectively. As measured at 100 microM l-arginine, neuronal NOS-catalyzed nitric oxide formation was inhibited 50% at a concentration of 25 microM C(3)-tris-malonyl-C(60)-fullerene. This inhibition was a multisite, positively cooperative inhibition with a Hill coefficient of 2.0. C(3)-tris-malonyl-C(60)-fullerene inhibited the arginine-independent NADPH-oxidase activity of nNOS with an IC(50) value of 22 microM but had no effects on its cytochrome c reductase activity at concentrations as high as 300 microM. The inhibition of nNOS activity by C(3)-tris-malonyl-C(60)-fullerene reduced the maximal velocity of product formation but did not alter the EC(50) value for activation by calmodulin. C(3)-tris-malonyl-C(60)-fullerene reduced the maximal velocity of citrulline formation by inducible NOS without altering the K(m) for l-arginine substrate or the EC(50) value for tetrahydrobiopterin cofactor. As measured by sucrose density gradient centrifugation, fully inhibitory concentrations of C(3)-tris-malonyl-C(60)-fullerene did not produce a dissociation of nNOS dimers into monomers. These observations are consistent with the proposal that C(3)-tris-malonyl-C(60)-fullerene inhibits the inter-subunit transfer of electrons, presumably by a reversible distortion of the dimer interface., (Copyright 2000 Academic Press.)

N(omega)propyl-l-arginine (NPA) and S-ethyl-N-[4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]isothiourea (TFMPITU) inhibit selectively the neuronal nitric oxide (NO) synthase (nNOS) isoform. In the presence of Ca(2+) and calmodulin (CaM), NPA and TFMPITU produce a time- and concentration-dependent suppression of nNOS catalyzed NO formation. This suppression of activity occurs by a first order kinetic process as revealed from linear Kitz-Wilson plots but does not depend on catalytic turnover since it occurs in the absence of NADPH. Following full suppression of NO synthetic activity by either NPA or TFMPITU, NO synthesis can be restored slowly by excess arginine or by dilution, indicating that the effects of these agents are reversible. This behavior is consistent with a dissociation of NPA and TFMPITU from nNOS slowed by a conformational transition produced by Ca(2+) CaM-binding. NPA and TFMPITU bind to nNOS rapidly producing a heme-substrate interaction as revealed by difference spectrophotometry. At physiological conditions (100 microM extracellular arginine), NPA and TFMPITU inhibit Ca(2+)-dependent NO formation by GH(3) pituitary cells with IC(50) values of 19 and 47 microM, respectively, but require millimolar concentrations to inhibit NO formation by cytokine-induced RAW 264.7 murine macrophages. The inhibition of NO formation by these agents in GH(3) cells is rapidly reversible and not due to suppression of cellular arginine uptake., (Copyright 2000 Academic Press.)

Nitric oxide synthase (NOS) (EC 1.14.13.39) is a homodimeric cytochrome P450 monooxygenase analog that generates nitric oxide (NO) from the amino acid L-arginine. Enzymatically produced NO acts as an intracellular messenger in neuronal networks, blood pressure regulatory mechanisms, and immune responses. Isoform-selective pharmacological modulation of NO synthesis has emerged as a new therapeutic strategy for the treatment of diverse clinical conditions associated with NO overproduction. Mechanism-based inactivators (MBIs) represent a class of NOS mechanistic inhibitors that require catalytic turnover to produce irreversible inactivation of the ability of NOS to generate NO. Diverse isoform-selective NOS MBIs have been characterized with respect to their kinetic parameters and chemical mechanisms of inactivation. In studies with isolated and purified NOS isoforms, MBIs produce irreversible inactivation of NOS enzymatic activities. The inactivation process is associated with covalent modification of the NOS active site and proceeds either through heme destruction, its structural alteration, or covalent modification of the NOS protein chain. The behavior of NOS MBIs in intact cells is different from their behavior observed with the isolated NOS isoforms. In cytokine-induced RAW 264.7 macrophages, treatment with MBIs produces a complete loss of cellular NOS synthetic competence and inducible NOS activity. However, following drug removal, cells can recover at least partially in the absence of protein synthesis. In GH3 cells containing the neuronal NOS isoform, calcium transients are too low and abbreviated to allow significant NOS inactivation; hence, the cellular effects of MBIs on the neuronal isoform are almost completely and immediately reversible.

N(G)-Amino-l-arginine, N(5)-(1-iminoethyl)-l-ornithine, N(6)-(1-iminoethyl)-l-lysine, and aminoguanidine were studied for the mechanisms by which they produce suicidal inactivation of the neuronal nitric oxide synthase isoform (nNOS). All of the inactivators that were amino acid structural analogs targeted the heme residue at the nNOS active site and led to its destruction as evidenced by the time- and concentration-dependent loss of the nNOS heme fluorescence, which reflects the disruption of the protoporphyrin-conjugated structure. The loss of heme was exclusively associated with the dimeric population of the nNOS. This inactivator-mediated loss of the nNOS heme never reached more than 60%, suggesting that only half of the dimeric heme is involved in catalytic activation of mechanism-based inactivators studied. Aminoguanidine-induced nNOS inactivation produced covalent modification of the nNOS protein chain with a stoichiometry of 0.8 mol of aminoguanidine per mole of the nNOS monomer. Specific covalent modification by aminoguanidine was exclusively associated with the oxygenase domain of the nNOS. The mechanisms by which N(6)-(1-iminoethyl)-l-lysine and aminoguanidine inactivate the nNOS and iNOS do not differ between the isoforms. The selectivity of these inactivators toward the iNOS isoform is a reflection of their much lower partition ratios, which were determined to be 0.16 +/- 0. 1 for N(6)-(1-iminoethyl)-l-lysine and 12 +/- 1.5 for aminoguanidine in case of the iNOS isoform while the same inactivators produced the partition ratios of 17 +/- 2 and 206 +/- 4, respectively, for the nNOS isoform.

Nitric oxide formation by GH3 pituitary cells is stimulated by depolarizing concentrations of K+ and by the L-channel Ca2+ agonist Bay kappa 8644 in an additive manner that depends on extracellular Ca2+. Ca(2+)-dependent NO formation at 100 microM arginine was inhibited 50% over a 30-min period by 5 microM NG-amino-L-arginine, 30 microM N6-iminoethyl-L-ornithine (NIO) and 520 microM N5-iminoethyl-L-lysine (NIL) but required concentrations of aminoguanidine (AG) greater than 3 mM. As measured at 100 microM extracellular arginine, intracellular neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) was inactivated 50% over a 30-min period by 150 microM NG-amino-L-arginine and 1500 microM NIO, but required concentrations of NIL or AG greater than 5 mM. The inactivation of nNOS by these agents occurred only under conditions that mobilized extracellular Ca2+ and was inhibited by increased extracellular arginine. Thus these agents inhibit cellular Ca(2+)-dependent NO formation at concentrations far lower than those required to inactivate the cellular nNOS. Inhibition of NO formation by these agents was not attributable to effects on cellular arginine uptake. In contrast diphenyliodonium chloride produced a rapid and complete inactivation of cellular NO formation and nNOS activity. These inactivations produced by diphenyliodonium chloride occurred with identical kinetics but displayed no requirement for Ca2+. These data support the assertion that neuronal NO synthase is refractory to mechanism-based inactivation in GH3 pituitary cells.

The kinetics of inactivation of affinity-purified nitric oxide synthase isoforms by N6-iminoethyl-L-lysine (NIL) and N5-iminoethyl-L-ornithine (NIO) has been examined. Each of the agents produced a time and concentration dependent first order inactivation of the nitric oxide synthase isoforms that required exposure of the NO synthase to drug under conditions that supported catalysis, consistent with the proposal that these agents act as alternate substrate, mechanism-based inactivators. As measured at 100 microM arginine, NIL and NIO were equally efficient as inactivators of the cytokine-inducible nitric oxide synthase exhibiting apparent second order inactivation rate constants of 31.5 and 32.0 mM(-1) min(-1) respectively. By contrast, NIL and NIO were less efficient as inactivators of the constitutive neuronal nitric oxide synthase isoform exhibiting apparent second order inactivation rate constants of 0.79 and 8.4 mM(-1) min(-1) respectively. As measured at 100 microM extracellular arginine, NIL and NIO produced a time and concentration dependent inactivation of the NO synthetic capability of cytokine-induced murine macrophage RAW 264.7 cells exhibiting apparent second order inactivation rate constants of 3.1 and 1.8 mM(-1) min(-1). The inactivated RAW cell NO synthetic capability was restored to 30% of its pretreatment value over a 3-h period despite the presence of cycloheximide.

The inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) selective inhibitors aminoguanidine (AG) and N6-(1-iminoethyl)-L-lysine (NIL), under conditions that support catalytic turnover, inactivate the enzyme by altering in different ways the functionality of the active site. NIL inactivation of the iNOS primarily targets the heme residue at the active site, as evidenced by a time- and concentration-dependent loss of heme fluorescence that accompanies the loss of NO-forming activity. The NIL-inactivated iNOS dimers that have lost their heme partially disassemble into monomers with no fluorometrically detectable heme. AG inactivation of the iNOS is not accompanied by heme destruction, as evidenced by retention of heme fluorescence and absorbance after complete loss of NO-forming activity. The AG-inactivated iNOS dimers do not disassemble into monomers as extensively as NIL-inactivated dimers. Incubation of the iNOS with 14C-labeled NIL results in no detectable protein-associated radioactivity in the NIL-inactivated iNOS, suggesting that the primary mechanism of the iNOS inactivation by NIL is heme alteration and loss. In contrast, incubations of iNOS with 14C-labeled AG result in the incorporation of radioactivity into both iNOS protein and low molecular weight structures that migrate by SDS-PAGE similarly to free heme. These observations suggest that AG inactivation proceeds through multiple pathways of covalent modification of the iNOS protein and the heme residue at the active site, but which sustain the integrity of the heme porphyrin ring.

A series of substituted aminoguanidines and amino-substituted isothioureas have been examined as inhibitors of nitric oxide (NO) synthase (NOS) isoforms. Each of the agents produced a time- and concentration-dependent inactivation of the NO-forming activity of the affinity-purified NOS isoforms. These inactivations required exposure of NOS to the drug under conditions that supported catalysis, consistent with the proposal that they act as alternate substrate, mechanism-based inactivators. Of the aminoguanidines examined, 2-ethylaminoguanidine was the most efficient inactivator, exhibiting vs. iNOS an apparent KI value of 120 microM as measured at 100 microM arginine and a k(inact max) value of 0.48 min(-1) and thus an apparent second-order rate constant for inactivation of 4.0 mM(-1)min(-1). 2-Ethylaminoguanidine displayed a high isoform selectivity for the iNOS compared with the nNOS and eNOS isoforms. 2-Ethylaminoguanidine inactivated NO synthetic activity in cytokine-induced RAW 264.7 cells as measured at 100 microM extracellular arginine with an apparent KI value of 55 microM and a k(inact max) value of 0.09 min(-1). The inactivated RAW 264.7 cell NO synthetic capability was restored over a 3-hr period after drug removal to a value 60% of its pretreatment value. This recovery occurred despite the presence of cycloheximide sufficient to inhibit protein synthesis by >99%. 1-Amino-S-methylisothiourea by contrast with the aminoguanidines was identified as a mechanism-based inactivator selective for the nNOS isoform. In contrast to S-isopropylisothiourea, which was found to be both cell penetrant and reversible, 1-amino-S-methylisothiourea appeared cell impermeable and inhibited NOS enzyme "irreversibly."

Guanidines, amidines, S-alkylisothioureas, and other compounds containing the amidine function (-C(=NH)NH2) have been described as inhibitors of the generation of nitric oxide (NO) by NO synthase (NOS). Here we report on the inhibition of the activity of NOS isoforms by compounds in which the amidine function is attached to a nitrogen of 1,2-diazo heterocycles to form N-carboxamidines and related compounds. 1H-Pyrazole-1-carboxamidine HCl (PCA) inhibited the activity of purified inducible NOS (iNOS), endothelial NOS (eNOS), and neuronal NOS (nNOS) isoforms to a similar extent (IC50 = 0.2 microM). 3-Methyl-PCA and 4-methyl-PCA showed reduced potencies, but a preference for iNOS [IC50 = 5 and 2.4 microM, respectively; cf. N(G)-methyl-L-arginine (NMA) IC50 = 6 microM]. Inhibition of purified iNOS by PCAs could be reversed completely by excess L-arginine, while their inhibition of NO production by stimulated RAW macrophages could be reversed by transfer to a drug-free medium. This suggests a competitive mode of inhibition. PCA caused potent concentration-dependent inhibition of the acetylcholine-induced, endothelium-dependent relaxations of precontracted rat thoracic aorta (IC50 = 30 microM). 4-Methyl-PCA inhibited the relaxations only at > or = 300 microM. In contrast, 4-methyl-PCA was more effective than both PCA and NMA in restoring the ex vivo contractility of aortic rings taken from lipopolysaccharide-treated rats. PCA and NMA, but not 4-methyl-PCA, caused marked increases in mean arterial pressure when administered i.v. to anesthetized rats. In conclusion, PCA and related compounds caused potent inhibition of NOS. Substitution of the pyrazole ring reduced potency, but improved selectivity towards iNOS as exemplified by 4-methyl-PCA.

As measured at 100 microM extracellular arginine, aminoguanidine produced a time- and concentration-dependent inactivation of nitric oxide (NO) synthesis by cytokine-induced RAW cells. Inactivation obeyed first-order kinetics and occurred at a maximal rate of 0.22 min(-1) with a half-maximal inactivation rate observed at a concentration of 670 microM aminoguanidine (K(I) value). Inactivation of NO synthetic activity in the presence of N(G)-methyl-L-arginine similarly followed first-order kinetics with a maximal inactivation rate of 0.07 min(-1) and a K(I) value of 170 microM. Inactivation of NO synthetic activity in the presence of diphenyliodonium chloride occurred with a maximal inactivation rate of 0.24 min(-1) with a K(I) value of 14 microM. Diphenyliodonium chloride also produced a first-order rate of inactivation of cytokine-inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) activity affinity purified from cytokine-induced RAW cells with a maximal inactivation rate of its cytochrome c reductase activity of 0.24 min(-1) with a K(I) value of 18 microM. Cytokine-induced RAW cells were treated with aminoguanidine, N(G)-methyl-L-arginine, and diphenyliodonium chloride at concentrations and for a time sufficient to completely inactivate NO synthesis by the cells and were allowed to recover in drug-free medium. Despite the presence of cycloheximide, NO synthetic rate recovered from 70 to 90% of its pretreatment activity over 4 h in cells exposed to either aminoguanidine or N(G)-methyl-L-arginine but did not recover from exposure to diphenyliodonium chloride. Analysis by sucrose density gradient centrifugation of the cytochrome c reductase and citrulline-forming activities in extracts of cells recovered from aminoguanidine treatment revealed that recovery was accompanied by a diminished population of iNOS monomers with an increased population of iNOS dimers. This observation is consistent with the hypothesis that for the mechanism-based inactivator aminoguanidine, functional dimers can be assembled from "drug-undamaged" monomers during the recovery period.

Protoporphyrin IX inhibits citrulline formation by all three nitric oxide synthase isoforms in a manner reversible by dilution. Zinc protoporphyrin IX, by contrast, produces a time- and concentration-dependent inactivation of all three nitric oxide synthase isoforms, not reversible by dilution. The inhibition of citrulline formation by protoporphyrin IX occurs with IC50 values of 0.8, 4, and 5 microM for the nNOS, iNOS, and eNOS isoforms, respectively. Inhibition by N-methyl-protoporphyrin IX occurs at IC50 values of 6, 5, and 8 microM for the nNOS, iNOS, and eNOS isoforms, respectively. Inhibition of nitric oxide synthase by protoporphyrin IX is a multisite, positively cooperative inhibition that exhibits a Hill coefficient of 2.3 for the iNOS isoform. Protoporphyrin IX reduces the maximal velocity of citrulline formation for both the iNOS and nNOS isoforms without altering the K(m) for the arginine substrate or the EC50 value for the tetrahydrobiopterin cofactor. Protoporphyrin IX inhibits the arginine-independent NADPH oxidase activity of nNOS with an IC50 value of 1 microM but has no effect on cytochrome c reductase activity at concentrations as high as 30 microM. At concentrations of 10 and 20 microM, protoporphyrin IX inhibits NO formation by cytokine-induced murine RAW 264.7 cells; however, these inhibitions are accompanied by significant cellular cytotoxicity. Coproporphyrins I and III, uroporphyrins I and III, and porphobilinogen, intermediates in the biosynthesis of heme that accumulate in hepatic porphyrias, are ineffective as inhibitors of the nitric oxide synthase isoforms. Since protoporphyrin IX is the immediate biosynthetic precursor of heme that accumulates in hepatic protoporphyria, iron deficiency anemia, and lead poisoning, protoporphyrin IX inhibition of nitric oxide synthase may contribute to the pathophysiology of these conditions.

1. Guanidines, amidines, S-alkylisothioureas, and recently, mercaptoalkylguanidines have been described as inhibitors of the generation of nitric oxide (NO) from L-arginine by NO synthases (NOS). We have recently demonstrated that guanidinoethyldisulphide (GED), formed from the dimerisation of mercaptoethylguanidine (MEG), is a novel inhibitor of nitric oxide synthases. Here we describe the pharmacological properties of GED on purified NOS isoforms, various cultured cell types, vascular ring preparations, and in endotoxin shock. 2. GED potently inhibited NOS activity of purified inducible NOS (iNOS), endothelial NOS (ecNOS), and brain NOS (bNOS) enzymes with Ki values of 4.3, 18 and 25 microM, respectively. Thus, GED has a 4 fold selectivity for iNOS over ecNOS at the enzyme level. The inhibitory effect of GED on ecNOS and iNOS was competitive vs. L-arginine and non-competitive vs. tetrahydrobiopterin. 3. Murine J774 macrophages, rat aortic smooth muscle cells, murine lung epithelial cells, and human intestinal DLD-1 cells were stimulated with appropriate mixtures of pro-inflammatory cytokines or bacterial lipopolysaccharide to express iNOS. In these cells, GED potently inhibited nitrite formation (EC50 values: 11, 9, 1 and 30 microM, respectively). This suggests that uptake of GED may be cell type and species-dependent. The inhibitory effect of GED on nitrite production was independent of whether GED was given together with immunostimulation or 6 h afterwards, indicating that GED does not interfere with the process of iNOS induction. 4. GED caused relaxations in the precontracted vascular ring preparations (EC50: 20 microM). Part of this relaxation was endothelium-dependent, but was not blocked by methylene blue (100 microM), an inhibitor of soluble guanylyl cyclase. In precontracted rings, GED enhanced the acetylcholine-induced, endothelium-dependent relaxations at 10 microM and caused a slight inhibition of the relaxations at 100 microM. The vascular studies demonstrate that the inhibitory potency of GED on ecNOS in the ring preparations is considerably lower than its potency against iNOS in the cultured cells. These data suggest that the selectivity of GED towards iNOS may lie, in part, at the enzyme level, as well as differential uptake by cells expressing the various isoforms of NOS. 5. In a rat model of endotoxin shock in vivo, administration of GED, at 3 mg kg-1 bolus followed by 10 mg kg-1 h-1 infusion, starting at 90 min after bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 15 mg kg-1, i.v.), prevented the delayed fall in mean arterial blood pressure, prevented the development of the vascular hyporeactivity to noradrenaline of the thoracic aorta ex vivo and protected against the impairment of the endothelium-dependent relaxations associated with this model of endotoxaemia. The same bolus and infusion of the inhibitor did not alter blood pressure or ex vivo vascular reactivity in normal animals over 90 min. 6. Administration of GED (10 mg kg-1, i.p.) given at 2 h after LPS (120 mg kg-1, i.p.) and every 6 h thereafter caused a significant improvement in the survival rate in a lethal model of endotoxin shock in mice between 12 and 42 h. 7. In conclusion, we found that GED is a competitive inhibitor of iNOS activity. Its selectivity towards iNOS may lie both at the enzyme level and at the level of cell uptake. GED has beneficial effects in models of endotoxin shock that are driven by iNOS. GED or its derivatives may be useful tools in the experimental therapy of inflammatory conditions associated with NO overproduction due to iNOS expression.

Diaminoguanidine (DAG) and NG-amino-L-arginine each produced a time- and concentration-dependent inactivation of the citrulline-forming activity of all three NOS isoforms. DAG inactivates both the NADPH-oxidase and the citrulline-forming activities of GH3 pituitary nNOS while NG-amino-L-arginine inactivates only its citrulline-forming activity. The inactivation by DAG of GH3 nNOS NADPH-oxidase and citrulline forming activities is stimulated by (6R)-5,6,7,8-tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) cofactor, follows pseudo-first-order kinetics and is not substrate saturable. DAG-induced inactivation of the citrulline-forming activity for the iNOS and eNOS isoforms displayed maximal inactivation rates of 0.37 and 0.14 min-1 and Ki values of 385 and 670 microM, respectively. At 1 mM DAG and saturating BH4, half-times of inactivation of 0.7, 8, and 2 min were observed for the nNOS, eNOS, and iNOS isoforms, respectively. NG-Amino-L-arginine-induced inactivation of the citrulline-forming activity of the nNOS, iNOS, and eNOS isoforms displayed maximal inactivation rates of 0.35, 0.26, and 0.53 min-1 and Ki values of 0.3, 3, and 2.5 microM, respectively. The inactivation of the NOS activities by both DAG and NG-amino-L-arginine in preincubations required the presence of oxygen and Ca2+, consistent with an inactivation mechanism that requires active metabolism by NOS. Methylguanidine and 1,1-dimethylguanidine exhibited a reversible inhibition pattern in contrast to all three NOS isoforms. Neither agent exhibited significant isoform selectivity.