NOS3 and peripheral arterial disease: In the study by Carnevale et al., PAD patients were shown to have enhanced platelet activation, which contributes to alteration of endothelial function, and the supernatant of activated platelets from PAD patients increased the release of soluble cell adhesion molecules (sCAMs) and decreased eNOS activation and NO bioavailability in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) [96].