@article{AlthausClauss2013, author = {Mike Althaus and Wolfgang G. Clauss}, title = {Gasotransmitters: novel regulators of ion channels and transporters}, series = {Frontiers in Physiology}, volume = {4}, publisher = {Frontiers Media}, issn = {1664-042X}, doi = {10.3389/fphys.2013.00027}, year = {2013}, abstract = {More than 25 years ago, it was a big surprise for physiologists that nitric oxide (NO) was identified as the endothelium derived relaxing factor which is responsible for endothelium-induced smooth muscle relaxation (Ignarro et al., 1987). Until then, small gaseous molecules were simply regarded as byproducts of cellular metabolism which were unlikely to be of any physiological relevance. The discovery that NO was synthesized by specific enzymes (NO-synthases), upon stimulation by specific, physiologically relevant stimuli (e.g., acetylcholine stimulation of endothelial cells), as well as the fact that it acted on specific cellular targets (e.g., soluble guanylate cyclase), set the course for numerous studies which investigated the physiological roles of gaseous signaling molecules—in other words, gasotransmitters (Wang, 2002).}, language = {en} }