1. The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of nitric oxide (NO) on angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) activity. 2. A biochemical study was performed in order to analyse the effect of the NO-donors, SIN-1 and diethylamine/NO (DEA/NO), and of an aqueous solution of nitric oxide on the ACE activity in plasma from 3-month old male Sprague-Dawley rats and on ACE purified from rabbit lung. SIN-1 significantly inhibited the activity of both enzymes in a concentration-dependent way between 1 and 100 microM. DEA/NO inhibited the activity of purified ACE from 0.1 microM to 10 microM and plasma ACE, with a lower potency, between 1 and 100 microM. An aqueous solution of NO (100 and 150 microM) also inhibited significantly the activity of both enzymes. Lineweaver-Burk plots indicated an apparent competitive inhibition of Hip-His-Leu hydrolysis by NO-donors. 3. Modulation of ACE activity by NO was also assessed in the rat carotid artery by comparing contractions elicited by angiotensin I (AI) and AII. Concentration-response curves to both peptides were performed in arteries with endothelium in the presence of the guanylyl cyclase inhibitor, ODQ (10 microM), and the inhibitor of NO formation, L-NAME (0.1 mM). NO, which is still released from endothelium in the presence of 10 microM ODQ, elicited a significant inhibition of AI contractions at low concentrations (1 and 5 nM). In the absence of endothelium, 1 microM SIN-1 plus 10 microM ODQ, as well as 10 microM DEA/NO plus 10 microM ODQ induced a significant inhibition on AI-induced contractions at 1 and 5 nM and at 1-100 nM, respectively. 4. In conclusion, we demonstrated that (i) NO and NO-releasing compounds inhibit ACE activity in a concentration-dependent and competitive way and that (ii) NO release from endothelium physiologically reduces conversion of AI to AII.