We examined early and late alterations in gene expression patterns and phosphorylation levels of key regulators of selected signaling pathways in U937 cells exposed to various (*)NO fluxes. cDNA microarray analysis and real-time quantitative PCR identified 45 NO-sensitive genes (>or=2-fold change), among which KLF2, KLF6, TSC22D3, DDIT4, MKP-5 (up-regulated), KIF23, histone H4, ARL6IP2, CLNS1A, SLC7A6, CDKN3, SRP19, and BCL11A (down-regulated) have not been reported before. For two selected genes, KLF2 and DDIT4, the sensitivity to (.)NO was also proven at the protein level. Among the examined genes, only KLF2 had a higher sensitivity to slow release of NO (DETA-NO) than to high-dose, short-duration exposure (DPTA-NO), reaching an about 50-fold increase in mRNA level. Our study revealed that fast and slow NO donors activate similar signaling pathways and induce phosphorylation of MAP kinases and downstream transcription factors ATF2 and c-Jun. Inhibitory analysis of major signaling pathways showed that activity of p38 MAPK and tyrosine kinases is indispensable for gene induction in cells exposed to DPTA-NO, whereas G-protein Rho suppression caused superinduction of KLF2 in (*)NO-stimulated cells. Finally, we showed that both (*)NO donors caused a marked decrease in phosphorylation of p70S6K, an mTOR substrate and regulator of mRNA translation, and protein kinase Akt, an upstream positive regulator of mTOR.
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