Soluble guanylate cyclases are heterodimeric proteins that catalyze the conversion of GTP to 3',5'-cyclic GMP and pyrophosphate. The protein encoded by this gene is an alpha subunit of this complex and it interacts with a beta subunit to form the guanylate cyclase enzyme, which is activated by nitric oxide. Several transcript variants encoding a few different isoforms have been found for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Jan 2012].