You are having lunch with an elderly friend when suddenly he begins to experience chest pain and tightness. He reaches into his pocket, gets out one of his nitroglycerin tablets and quickly takes it. After the episode passes, your friend asks you how the nitroglycerin helps his angina. You explain that nitroglycerin gets converted by cells to nitric oxide (NO) causing the smooth muscle cells of

Question

the blood vessel to relax and increase blood flow to the heart. He pushes you for a more detailed explanation, so you explain further that:

A. NO activates guanylyl cyclase, which catalyzes the synthesis of cGMP, which acts as an intracellular
messenger in a pathway leading to smooth muscle relaxation.
B. NO activates a protein kinase which catalyzes the synthesis of cGMP, which acts as an intracellular
messenger in a pathway leading to smooth muscle relaxation.
C. NO inhibits guanylyl cyclase, which allows the build up of cGMP, which acts as an intracellular
messenger in a pathway leading to smooth muscle relaxation.
D. NO activates cGMP, which catalyzes the synthesis of guanylyl cyclase, which acts as an intracellular
messenger in a pathway leading to smooth muscle relaxation.

Answer 1

A. NO activates guanylyl cyclase, which catalyzes the synthesis of cGMP, which acts as an intracellular
messenger in a pathway leading to smooth muscle relaxation.