Gaseous mediators are chemicals that are produced in small amounts by some cells of the mammalian body and have a number of biological signalling functions.
There are three so-far-identified gaseous mediator molecules: nitric oxide (NO), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), and carbon monoxide (CO).
[4] When septic shock occurs in the human body due to bacterial toxins, nitric oxide is released by a variety of cells through the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase in order to induce vasodilation as part of the inflammatory response.
[5] The released nitric oxide can be crucial to the body by reducing instances of platelet and leukocyte adhesion while also counteracting apoptosis.
[6] However, prolonged septic shock could lead to the overproduction of nitric oxide, which could lead to cell damage due to nitric oxide radical formation and peroxynitrite (ONOO−) formation after interacting with oxygen in the body.