title: Plasma endothelin-1 levels in normotensive and borderline hypertensive subjects during a standard cold pressor test.
abstract: Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is a potent vasoconstrictor peptide derived from endothelium. The presence of ET-1 in human vascular endothelium and in the plasma suggests that it may play a role in the regulation of vascular tone and blood pressure (BP) in humans. The aim of this study was to evaluate the behaviour of plasma ET-1 in 10 normotensives (average 36.3 +/- 14.8 years) and 10 borderline hypertensives (average 42.0 +/- 11.7 years) before, during and after a standard cold pressor test. We also evaluated the behaviour of heart rate and BP at the same time. Our results demonstrated that the baseline (-10 and 0 min) plasma ET-1 values were identical for the two groups (8.6 +/- 5.8 and 8 +/- 4.7 pg/ml in normotensives; 7.8 +/- 2.7 and 7 +/- 2.4 pg/ml in borderline hypertensives). A statistically significant increment was verified 10 min after exposure to cold in the borderline hypertensive group (12.1 +/- 5.1 pg/ml) compared with the normotensives group (6.8 +/- 4.5 pg/ml; P < 0.05). In conclusion, our study demonstrated that after 10 min of cold pressor stimulus an increase of circulating ET-1 levels was seen in borderline hypertensives.
authors.affiliation: Medical Pathology I, University of Rome La Sapiddenza, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Letizia
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cerci
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Ciocchis
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: D'Ambrosio
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Scuro
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Scavo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D003080:Cold Temperature; D016232:Endothelins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000097:blood* / Q000503:physiopathology; D016014:Linear Models; D008875:Middle Aged; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D016232:Endothelins