Recent studies indicate that endothelium-derived relaxing factor (EDRF) may be identical with nitric oxide (NO). The purpose of this study was to investigate the antimitogenic effect of NO-generating drugs in cultured mesangial cells. S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine, sodium nitroprusside, and isosorbide dinitrate, which generate NO, dose dependently inhibited serum-stimulated DNA synthesis. All three drugs also inhibited the rate of cell proliferation, whereas sodium nitroprusside and S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine decreased cell density at confluence. The antimitogenic activity of S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine was labile in culture medium and could be inhibited by hemoglobin, supporting the view that NO, in free or bound form, was the ultimate effector. All three vasodilators increased cellular guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP) levels dose dependently; moreover, 8-bromo-cGMP mimicked the effects of the NO-generating drugs, suggesting that cGMP may be an intracellular mediator of antimitogenesis. The growth-inhibitory effect of S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine was reversible and was not due to cell toxicity as shown by several criteria of cell viability. The results raise the possibility that EDRF/NO may be a modulator of mesangial cell growth in vivo.