Regulation of transcription factors by nitric oxide in neurons and in neural-derived tumor cells

Nitric oxide (NO), a diffusible molecule acting as an intercellular and intracellular messenger in many tissues, plays multiple roles in the nervous system. In addition to regulating proliferation, survival and differentiation of neurons, NO is also involved in synaptic activity, neural plasticity and memory formation. Long-lasting effects of NO, a simple and unstable molecule, occur through regulation of transcription factors and modulation of gene expression. cAMP-response-element-binding (CREB) protein is an important transcription factor that regulates the expression of several genes involved in survival and neuroprotection as well as in synaptic plasticity and memory formation. Nitric oxide promotes survival and differentiation of neural cells, both activating through cGMP signaling CREB phosphorylation-dependent transcriptional activity and promoting S-nitrosylation of nuclear proteins that favor CREB binding to its promoters on target genes. Among oncogenic transcription factors, N-Myc is important in neurogenesis and in regulating proliferation of neural-derived tumor cells, such as neuroblastomas and medulloblastomas. Nitric oxide negatively regulates the proliferation of neuronal precursors, as well as the proliferation of neuroblastoma cells, by downregulating N-Myc expression through cGMP signaling. Other oncogenic transcription factors, such as c-fos and c-jun, zinc-finger transcription factors, such as egr-1, and NF-κB are regulated by NO signaling in cGMP-dependent way or through nitrosative conformational changes. The present survey of how NO signaling influences neural cells through regulation of transcription factors allows us to predict that better knowledge of these interactions will provide a better understanding of the physiological role of NO in the nervous system in order to conceive novel therapies for neural-derived tumors.