Fig. 1. Schematic illustration of nitric oxide (NO)/cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) signaling pathway and its downstream effects. Activated cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG) by NO/cGMP signaling exerts diverse biological function by modulating its multiple downstream effectors in various cell types. PKG interacts with vasodilatory-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP) to regulate cell adhesion and migration, inflammation and insulin sensitivity, as well as with survival molecules to regulate cell survival, and proliferation. PKG also exerts its role in angiogenesis and smooth muscle contractility via mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) family. sGC, soluble guanylyl cyclase; PDE, phosphodiesterase; c-Src, proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase c-Src; CREB, cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)-responsive element binding protein; RhoK, rho-associated protein kinase.