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Endothelin (ET)-1, an endothelium-derived vasoactive polypeptide encoded in the human genome, is the most potent vasoconstrictor identified to date. In addition to its acute role in modulating vascular smooth muscle tone, ET-1 also plays a critical role in the long-term control of cellular growth within the vasculature and thus, modulates the chronic remodeling of the vascular tree. In order to produce such a diverse range of biological responses, this peptide is able to activate numerous distinct effector systems including phospholipase C, phospholipase D, phospholipase A2, adenylate and guanylate cyclases and numerous cytosolic/nuclear protein kinases. These actions, mediated via an interaction with two major subtypes of cell surface seven-transmembrane receptors (ET(A) and ET(B)), are coupled to their effector systems by several distinct types of guanine nucleotide regulatory proteins (both inhibitory and stimulatory G proteins). This review describes such intercations and how distinct pharmacological agents have been used to identify the diverse signaling mechanisms utilized by the ET isopeptides.
Douglas et al. (Wed,) studied this question.