Abstract
In 1980, Furchgott and Zawadzki1 reported that the relaxant effect of acetylcholine (ACh) on a pre-contracted rabbit aorta was mediated, indirectly, by the release from the endothelial cells of a relaxant substance which was later termed the endothelium-derived relaxing factor or EDRF. The role of the endothelial cell in the regulation of vascular smooth muscle tone has now been extensively investigated with current opinion indicating that nitric oxide (NO), probably derived from L-arginine, is one of the EDRFs released and that the cellular effects of NO involve the activation of soluble guanylate cyclase2. In addition, it is accepted that the endothelial cell also releases contracting, for instance endothelin, as well as relaxing factors3.
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References
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© 1992 Springer Science+Business Media New York
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Xie, H., Triggle, C.R. (1992). The Effects of Changes in pO2 on Endothelium-Dependent and -Independent Relaxations of the Human Umbilical Artery and Rat Aorta. In: Frank, G.B., Bianchi, C.P., ter Keurs, H.E.D.J. (eds) Excitation-Contraction Coupling in Skeletal, Cardiac, and Smooth Muscle. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 311. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3362-7_53
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3362-7_53
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