In vitro evidence that the vasorelaxant effects of 2-nitro-1-phenyl-1-propanol on rat coronary arteries involve cyclic nucleotide pathways.

The synthetic nitro-alcohol 2-nitro-1-phenyl-1-propanol (NPP) has endothelium-independent relaxing properties in isolated preparations of rat aorta and mesenteric artery. In this study, we investigated whether the vasodilator effects occur in coronary vessels and explored whether hyperpolarization is involved in the underlying mechanism of NPP-induced smooth muscle relaxation. The relaxing responses were studied in isolated preparations of the left anterior descending coronary (ADC) and the septal coronary (SC) arteries, which had been previously maintained under sustained contraction induced by the thromboxane A analogue U-46619.