Rat BA diameter 6 hours after injecting saline, 11R-EGFP, or 11R-HO-1. This graph shows significantly increased diameter after injection of either protein (11R-EGFP or 11R-HO-1) compared with saline, although 11R-HO-1 and 11R-EGFP groups do not differ significantly (A). Levels of cGMP in BAs in SAH were examined 6 hours after protein induction. BAs with 11R-HO-1 have higher cGMP levels than control and 11R-EGFP groups. However, the cGMP accumulations 5 or 7 days after protein transduction were decreased. All experiments were performed three times (B). BA, basilar artery; cGMP, cyclic guanosine 3′, 5′-cyclic monophosphate; 11R-EGFP, 11R-fused enhanced green fluorescent protein; HO-1, heme-oxygenase-1; SAH, subarachnoid hemorrhage.