The moving frontier in nitric oxide-dependent signaling.

New discoveries are expanding our view of the role of nitric oxide (NO) in mammalian physiology by revealing new types, amounts, and fates of molecules modified in vivo by NO and its derivatives, as well as the profound augmentation of some of NO's actions at physiologic levels of O(2). Investigators have identified a new form of endogenous reversible N-nitrosation reactions in vivo, that of proteins; a new class of endogenously nitrated bioactive molecules in vivo, nitro-fatty acids; and the ability of NO-dependent posttranslational modifications to control the half-life and destination of key regulatory proteins.