YC-1 is an nitric oxide (NO)-independent activator of soluble guanylyl cyclase. It inhibits collagen (10 μg/ml) and thrombin (0.1 U/ml) induced platelet aggregation with IC50 values of 11.7-14.6 and 57.3-59.3 μM, respectively. In the absence of NO or carbon monoxide (CO), 200 μM YC-1 increases the activity of purified soluble guanylyl cyclase 12-fold, with an ED50 value of 20 μM. At a concentration of 200 μM, YC-1 potentiates the maximal activity of soluble guanylyl cyclase in the presence of NO or CO by 40% and >3,000%, respectively.
