Doctors have long treated heart attacks, improved asthma symptoms, and cured impotence by increasing levels of a single molecule in the body: nitric oxide.
The tiny molecule can change how proteins function. But new research featured in Molecular Cell suggests supplementing nitric oxide–NO–is only the first step. Researchers have discovered previously unknown enzymes in the body that convert NO into “stopgap” molecules–SNOs–that then modulate proteins. The newly discovered enzymes help NO ha…