Enhanced responsiveness to nitric oxide, nitroxyl anions, and nitrergic transmitter by 3-(5′-hydroxymethyl-2′-furyl)-1-benzyl indazole in the rat anococcygeus muscle

The effects of 3-(5′-hydroxymethyl-2′-furyl)-1-benzyl indazole (YC-1) on responses to sodium nitroprusside (SNP), S-nitroso-N-acetyl- penicillamine (SNAP), the nitroxyl anion donor Angeli's salt, and nitrergic nerve stimulation, as well as the release of NO from nitrergic nerves, were studied in the rat isolated anococcygeus muscle. YC-1 (1-100 μM) produced concentration-dependent relaxations in contracted muscles, which were partially but significantly reduced by the inhibitor of soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC), 1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3,-a]quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ, 1 and 10 μM). At a concentration that did not affect tissue tension, YC-1 (1 μM) significantly enhanced relaxations to SNP, SNAP, and Angeli's salt but did not affect relaxations to papaverine (10 μM). Nitrergic relaxations elicited by short periods (1 Hz for 10 s, 15 V) and long periods of EFS (5 Hz for 5 min, 15 V) were also enhanced by YC-1. YC-1 (100 μM), in an l-NAME and tetrodotoxin-insensitive manner, also increased the amount of NO detected in the organ bath media after the tissue was field stimulated (5 Hz for 5 min), which may have resulted from the electrolytic degradation of YC-1, as this effect was also seen in the absence of tissue. In summary, YC-1 enhanced relaxations to donors of NO, Angeli's salt, and nitrergic nerve stimulation in the rat anococcygeus muscle; however, the enhanced release of NO by YC-1 following nitrergic nerve stimulation was not a tissue-dependent effect.