1. The objective of the present study was to assess whether inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) production could modulate vascular permeability in the coronary circulation in conscious rats. 2. Intravenous injection of NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 2 mg kg-1) resulted in a slowly developing hypertension and evoked twofold increases in vascular permeability in the left ventricle and right atrium as measured by the extravasation of Evans blue dye. Maintenance of mean arterial blood pressure at the level observed following L-NAME injection by infusion of noradrenaline (620-820 ng kg-1 min-1) did not induce significant protein extravasation in the coronary circulation. 3. L-NAME treatment markedly enhanced (up to 490%) protein extravasation both in the left ventricle and right atrium in response to platelet-activating factor (PAF, 1.9 nmol kg-1, i.v.) and endothelin-1 (1 nmol kg-1, i.v.). Noradrenaline infusion potentiated (up to 69%) endothelin-1-induced protein extravasation. The permeability effect of PAF was only slightly enhanced by noradrenaline. 4. The present findings indicate that inhibition of endogenous NO synthesis leads to an increase in protein extravasation and to potentiation of the permeability effects of PAF and endothelin-1 in the coronary circulation. These results also suggest that NO may be an important regulator of vascular permeability under physiological and pathological conditions.