Vasorelaxation experiments with rabbit aorta. (a) The nitric oxide (NO)-sensitivity of aortic rings progressively declined with increasing isosorbide mononitrate (ISMN) dosage (n=9–10, P=0.0161, analysis of variance (ANOVA)). (b–d) Removal of the endothelium (–endo) in all three groups did not change the responses to S-nitroso-N-acetyl-D,L-penicillamine (SNAP) in any of the groups (P=0.1999 for ISMN-0, P=0.3706 for ISMN-2 and P=1.000 for ISMN-200, n=9–10, t-tests). All values represent mean±s.e.m.