Nitric oxide (NO) is one of biology's most multi-faceted molecules. In some cases, NO seems to have contradictory outcomes; for example, it has been reported to be both neurotoxic and neuroprotective. Recent work now address this conundrum, at least in neurons and glia, and describes an elegant molecular cascade whereby NO provides cytoprotection in astrocytes, but not in neurons.
- Solomon H. Snyder
- Sangwon Kim