Researchers discover new enzyme function for anemia
Date: 6.10.2011
Researchers at St. Michael's Hospital have discovered a new function for an enzyme that may protect against organ injury and death from anemia.
Identifying this mechanism may lead to new therapies and approaches to improving outcomes for anemic patients. Dr. Hare and colleagues found that when people have anemia, neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) - an enzyme in nerve cells that produces nitric oxide, an important signaling molecule in the body - increases the body's ability to respond, adapt to low oxygen levels and makes the body more efficient in delivering oxygen to tissues.
The research appeared today's issue of Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences.
