Moncada, Salvador

Three years later Robert F Furchgott discov ered that the relaxing of smooth muscles such as blood vessel walls was stimulated by an unknown substance produced in the lining of the blood vessels (the endothelium) He called this substance the endothelium-dependent relaxing factor or EDRF and in 1986 showed that EDRF was NO Louis J Ignarro reached the same conclusion at about the same time Further support was provided by Salvador Moncada who showed that endothelial cells did in deed produce NO and that the l arginine to l citrulline conversion was responsible... 

Our grateful thanks go to many people who have assisted us in exploring this fascinating area on the borders of chemistry and physiology, but principally we thank Professor Salvador Moncada and his collaborators at The Wellcome Research Laboratories, England, who have been responsible for so much of what has been described. 

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