Cigarette smoke activates guanylate cyclase and increases guanosine 3',5'-monophosphate in tissues

The gaseous phase of cigarette smoke induced a 2- to 36-fold increase in the activity of guanylate cyclase in supernatant and particulate fractions from various rat and bovine tissues over basal activity. The characteristics of this phenomenon paralleled those of the activation of guanylate cyclase by nitric oxide, which is a component of tobacco smoke.