Nitric oxide synthesis in atherosclerosis

In 1980 Furchgott and Zawadzki discovered that acetylcholine-induced relaxation of rabbit aortic strips required an intact endothelium. They found that stimulation of muscarinic receptors on the endothelium led to the release of a non-prostanoid relaxing factor which they named endothelium-derived relaxing factor. Further studies have established the importance of endothelium-derived relaxing factor in human coronary arteries.