S-nitrosoalbumin (SNO-Alb) has been shown to be an efficacious cytoprotective molecule in acute lung injury, as well as ischemia-reperfusion injury in heart and skeletal muscle. Nonetheless, limited information is available on the cellular mechanism of such protection. Accordingly, we investigated the protective effects of SNO-Alb [ and its denitrosated congener, reduced albumin (SH-Alb) ] on tert-butyl hydroperoxide (tBH)-mediated cytotoxicity in cultured rat pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (RPMEC), as well as hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S)-mediated cytotoxicity in rat pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (RPASMC). We noted that tBH caused a concentration-dependent necrosis in RPMEC, and pretreatment of RPMEC with SNO-Alb dose-dependently decreased the sensitivity of these cells to tBH. A component of SNO-Alb cytoprotection was sensitive to N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester and was associated with activation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), phenomena that could be reproduced with pretreatment with SH-Alb. Exogenous H(2)S caused concentration-dependent apoptosis in RPASMC due to activation of ERK1/2 and p38, as well as downregulation of Bcl-2. Pretreatment with SNO-Alb reduced H(2)S-mediated apoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner that was associated with SNO-Alb-mediated inhibition of activation of ERK1/2 and p38. Pretreatment with SNO-Alb reduced toxicity of 1 mM sodium hydrosulfide in an N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester-sensitive fashion in RPASMC that expressed gp60 and neuronal NOS and was capable of transporting fluorescently labeled SH-Alb. Therefore, SNO-Alb is cytoprotective against models of oxidant-induced necrosis (tBH) and inhibitors of cellular respiration and apoptosis (H(2)S) in both pulmonary endothelium and smooth muscle, respectively, and a component of such protection can be attributed to a SH-Alb-mediated activation of constitutive NOS.