1. Incubation of smooth muscle cells (SMC) from bovine aorta for 3 min with human washed platelets treated with indomethacin (10 microM) promoted a cell number-related inhibition of platelet aggregation induced by thrombin (40 mu ml-1). This inhibition was not attributable to products of the cyclo-oxygenase pathway for the SMC were also treated with indomethacin (10 microM). 2. The inhibitory activity of the SMC on platelet aggregation was enhanced by incubating the SMC with E. coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 0.5 micrograms ml-1) for a period of 9 to 24 h. This effect was attenuated when cycloheximide (10 micrograms ml-1) was incubated together with LPS. Cycloheximide did not prevent the inhibitory activity of the non-treated cells. 3. The inhibition of platelet aggregation obtained with non-treated or LPS-treated SMC was potentiated by superoxide dismutase (SOD, 60 u ml-1) and ablated by oxyhaemoglobin (OxyHb, 10 microM). Preincubation of the SMC with NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA, 30-300 microM) for 60 min prevented their antiaggregatory activity. This effect was reversed by concurrent incubation with L-arginine (L-Arg, 100 microM) but not with D-arginine (D-Arg, 100 microM). 4. Exposure of the non-treated SMC (5 x 10(5) cells) to stirring (1000 r.p.m., 37 degrees C) for 10 min led to a significant increase in their levels of guanosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate (cyclic GMP) but not adenosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate (cyclic AMP). L-NMMA (300 microM) attenuated the increase in cyclic GMP induced by stirring but did not affect the basal levels of cyclic GMP in the cells.5. These findings support the idea that non-treated or LPS-treated cultured SMC can produce an NO-like factor. Production by the latter requires protein synthesis as evidenced by blockade with cycloheximide. This NO-like factor may play a role in the auto-regulation of smooth muscle cell reactivity through a cyclic GMP-dependent mechanism.