We studied the role of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) as a mediator of the reduction of L-type calcium current (ICa) induced by muscarinic receptor stimulation and by nitric oxide in isolated guinea-pig ventricular cells using the whole-cell patch-clamp technique. Our results show that when the level of cyclic adenosine monophosphate was increased by the phosphodiesterase inhibitor isobutylmethylxanthine (IBMX), stimulation of a pertussis-toxin (PTX)-sensitive muscarinic receptor by carbachol (1 microM) reduced the calcium current increase from 80.6 +/- 23.5% to 19.8 +/- 9.6% over the control and this effect was prevented by methylene blue (10 microM), an inhibitor of the soluble guanylate cyclase. Pipette solution containing 10 microM cGMP reduced the enhancement of ICa by IBMX from 121.9 +/- 11.6% to 14.2 +/- 5.4% above the control. Sodium nitroprusside (10 microM), a spontaneous donor of nitric oxide, and consequently a stimulator of soluble guanylate cyclase, also reduced IBMX-stimulated ICa from 115.2 +/- 13.2% to 32.2 +/- 6.9% above control and the sodium nitroprusside effect was also suppressed by methylene blue. The latter two reagents were ineffective on basal ICa.