Figure 2.

Schematic illustration of endogenous CO synthesis by heme oxygenase (HO) and the subsequent cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) signaling cascade reaction [32]. Solid lines represent metabolic routes or subgroupings. Dashed lines represent main functional consequences: stimulation (green line); inhibition (red line). Exceptions exist for the depicted functional consequences. Soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC), calcium signaled potassium channels (KCa), and p38 mitogen activated protein kinases (p38 MAPK) together with inhibitors cytochrome P450 (CYP450), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/2) pathway.