The roles of nitric oxide derived from either the constitutive endothelial NO synthase (eNOS or NOS3) or the inducible NOS (iNOS or NOS2) in hepatic injury during endotoxemia remain controversial. To investigate this further, rats received a bolus of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) following implantation of osmotic pumps containing one of two nonselective NOS inhibitors (NMA or NAME), one of two inducible NOS inhibitors (NIL or AG), or saline. The inhibitors were infused continuously into the liver via the portal vein. Treatment of LPS-injected rats with NMA and NAME resulted in 106 and 227% increases, respectively, in circulating hepatic enzyme levels compared to LPS-treated control rats. In contrast, infusion of the iNOS-selective inhibitors had no effect on the LPS-induced hepatic necrosis. In rats receiving NAME, LPS induced greater neutrophil infiltration and ICAM-1 expression than in the LPS + saline group, whereas NIL infusion did not. The increased hepatic necrosis and PMN infiltration in the LPS + NAME group was partially prevented by a simultaneous infusion of a liver-selective NO donor. Inhibition of PMN accumulation using an anti-ICAM-1 antibody or by PMN depletion using vinblastine pretreatment, however, did not reverse the increased necrosis with NAME infusion during endotoxemia. In contrast to the assessment for necrosis, increased apoptosis was observed in the livers of LPS-treated rats receiving infusions of either NAME or NIL, but not with LPS alone. These data indicate that NO produced by eNOS may be adequate to prevent necrosis by a mechanism independent of PMN, while induced NO appears to prevent apoptosis.