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© Dr Carlos Outeiral
The study, published in Nature Metabolism, shows that inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) can regulate levels of the inflammatory molecule itaconate without producing nitric oxide (NO) - challenging long-held assumptions about how this enzyme works.
Instead, the researchers found that iNOS directly binds to IRG1, the enzyme responsible for producing itaconate. This interaction reduces IRG1 activity and limits itaconate production, acting as a brake on inflammatory responses.
Marina Diotallevi, postdoctoral researcher in the Radcliffe Department of Medicine and lead author of the study, said: 'We were surprised to find that iNOS can regulate inflammation independently of nitric oxide. This changes how we think about its role in immune cells and highlights a completely new layer of metabolic control during inflammation.
'Further analysis demonstrated that iNOS and IRG1 form a stable complex positioning iNOS as part of a broader signalling hub linking metabolism and immune function.'
Read the full story on the Radcliffe Department of Medicine website.