Hypoxia Enhances Nitric Oxide Synthesis by Upregulation of Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase in Endothelial Cells

Hypoxia is an integral part of the environment during luteolysis. In this study we examined whether hypoxia could directly stimulate endothelial cells to produce nitric oxide (NO). Endothelial cells were cultured in hypoxic (5% O₂) or normoxic (20% O₂) conditions and the levels of total NO, inducible NO and endothelial NO was measured. We found that hypoxia but not normoxia upregulated NO production. The increased NO levels correlated with increased inducible NO synthase (iNOS) expression whereas expression of endothelial NOS (eNOS) expression remained constant. Addition of the iNOS specific inhibitor 1400W to hypoxic cultures prevented NO production suggesting that hypoxia?induced NO production in endothelial cells was due mainly to upregulation of iNOS. We also found that prostaglandin F 2α (PGF) production was unaffected by hypoxia suggesting that upregulation of NO was not due to increased synthesis of PGF. In summary, we report that endothelial cells cultured under hypoxic conditions produce NO via the iNOS pathway. This study provides the importance of the relation between the hypoxic environment and the induction of NO by endothelial cells during regression of the corpus luteum in the ovary.