Key result
Essential hypertension linked to ~57% higher serum endothelin-1 levels compared to normotensive controls.
Why the study?
The role of endothelin-1 in the pathogenesis of hypertension is not clearly established, with controversial data regarding whether its circulating levels are elevated in hypertension.
Case-Control (n=80)
No
Serum ET-1 levels, but not Big ET-1, are significantly elevated in patients with essential hypertension, suggesting ET-1 may play a role in its pathogenesis.
Elevated ET-1 in essential hypertension is hypothesis-generating; leaves open pathogenic role and need for prospective confirmation before any clinical consideration.
The role of endothelin-1 (ET-1) in the pathogenesis of hypertension (HTN) is not clearly established. There is evidence that its circulating levels are elevated in some forms of experimental and human HTN, but this was not a consistent finding. Based on these controversial data, we tested serum levels of ET-1 and Big ET-1 (the precursor of ET-1) in patients with essential HTN, comparing the results with those of healthy normotensive controls. The levels of ET-1 and Big ET-1 were measured by ELISA. Our results in patients with essential HTN showed that the mean levels of ET-1 (5.01 ± 2.1 pg/mL) were significantly higher (F = 6.34, p = 0.0144) than the mean levels in the control group (3.2 ± 1.0 pg/mL). The levels of Big ET-1 in patients with essential HTN (0.377 ± 0.1 pmol/L) were similar to those in the control group (0.378 ± 0.07 pmol/L) and did not differ significantly (F = 0.00, p = 0.9531). These data suggest that ET-1, but not Big ET-1, may play an important role in the pathogenesis of primary HTN.
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Kostov et al. (2021) conducted a case-control in Essential Hypertension (n=80). Essential Hypertension vs. Healthy normotensive controls was evaluated on Serum levels of Endothelin-1 (ET-1) (p=0.0144). Patients with essential hypertension had significantly higher mean serum levels of endothelin-1 (5.01 pg/mL) compared to healthy normotensive controls (3.2 pg/mL, p=0.0144).
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