Diabetes has become a national and international epidemic with the incidence of diabetes expecting to double by the year 2030.
The metabolic and structural abnormalities observed in diabetic patients, in patients with the metabolic syndrome, and now
being observed in the post-surgical intensive care unit, have all been associated with the development of endothelial dysfunction.
Recent studies suggest that this finding of endothelial dysfunction may be due to decreased bioavailability of a key signaling
molecule, nitric oxide (NO), which is due to disruption of the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS)/soluble guanylate
cyclase/cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP)-dependent pathway. Disruption of this pathway results in an oxidative and nitrosative
stress state that accelerates the progression and the complications of cardiovascular disease found in diabetes. The purpose
of this chapter is to review current information about the disruption of this important signaling system especially in the
context of diabetes.
Key Words Nitric oxide - Diabetes - Endothelial dysfunction - Endothelial nitric oxide synthase - Cyclic GMP pathway - Oxidative stress - Nitrosative stress - Insulin resistance