Is plasma endothelin-1 a marker or mediator of disease in patients with pulmonary hypertension?
Elevated arterial endothelin-1 in primary pulmonary hypertension suggests pulmonary production that may contribute to increased vascular resistance.
Patient with pulmonary hypertension have substantial alterations in plasma immunoreactive endothelin-1, which may reflect changes in net release or clearance of endothelin-1 by the lung. In patients with primary pulmonary hypertension, the high levels in arterial compared with venous plasma suggest pulmonary production of endothelin-1, which may contribute to elevated pulmonary vascular resistance.
Stewart et al. (1991) studied this question.