Cisplatin-induced inhibition of the calcium-calmodulin complex, neuronal nitric oxide synthase activation and their role in stomach distention

Cisplatin (8 mg/kg; i.p.) treatment of Wistar rats produced no change in nitric oxide synthase (NOS) localization or its intensity for up to 5 days. However, immunohistochemically the levels of L-citrulline and the Ca2+-calmodulin complex were decreased after only 3 days. An in vitro experiment using an analog of calmodulin, Mero-Calmodulin-1, showed that cis-diammine-diaquacisplatinum(II), a hydrolyzed form of cisplatin, inhibited the calmodulin conformational shift from occurring through a direct interaction with the calmodulin molecule. The results indicate that distention of the stomach was due to inhibition of neuronal NOS activation by a direct interaction between cisplatin and the calcium binding sites of the calmodulin molecule.