Purified nitric oxide synthase from rat brain

A nitric oxide synthase (NOS) protein is obtained from rat brain and purified to a specific activity at least 6,360-fold that of a crude tissue preparation. The NOS protein has a denatured MW of 105 kD determined by SDS-PAGE, a dimeric MW of 230 kD determined by gel filtration and requires FAD, FMN, Ca2+ and tetrahydropterin for the production of nitric oxide from L-arginine or an arginine-rich peptide, oligopeptide or protein substrate.