NOS3 and endothelial dysfunction: Finally, we found endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS, Nos3) and inducible NOS (iNOS, Nos2) were significantly decreased in the control compared with the mock, indicating deficient nitric oxide (NO) inside blood vessels upon infection, which thus leads to endothelial dysfunction and suppressed NO signaling in regulating inflammation (Figure 3D).