Constitutive expression and structural diversity of inducible isoform of nitric oxide synthase in human tissues.

Nitric oxide (NO) produced by inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) plays a major role in immune responses to bacteria and tumors, and the gene is induced by endotoxin and cytokines. However, we have detected iNOS cDNA sequences expressed constitutively at low level from human retinal, cerebellar and skeletal muscle tissues using northern-blot and RT-PCR analyses. In northern-blot analysis, two types (4.5 kb and 4.2 kb) of iNOS mRNA have been observed in retinal tissue, whereas only one type of mRNA was observed in cerebellum (4.5 kb) and skeletal muscle (4.2 kb). This result indicates that the presence of differential expression and/or structural diversity of the iNOS gene in various tissues, and some cells can express iNOS gene constitutively. We have also demonstrated a structural diversity formed by alternative splicing in the open reading frame sequence of the iNOS cDNA cloned from retinal tissue, which may reflect functional differences of iNOS gene.