title: Comparison of endothelin binding sites in cultured aortic smooth muscle cells from spontaneously hypertensive and normotensive rats.
abstract: Endothelin-1 (ET-1), which is secreted from vascular endothelial cells, is not only a potent vasoconstrictor but also a vascular smooth muscle cell growth factor. The direct effect of ET-1 on vascular smooth muscle cells, mediated via its specific receptor may therefore play an important role in hypertension and atherosclerosis. Our previous studies indicated that ET-1 secretion from cultured aortic endothelial cells from spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) at the prehypertensive stage (4 weeks old) was not significantly different from that of cells from age-matched Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats. In this study, the binding of ET-1 to cultured aortic smooth muscle cells from SHRs and WKY rats was studied. Using tissue explant techniques, rat aortic smooth muscle cells from SHRs and age-matched WKY rats of different ages (4 and 24 weeks old) were successfully cultured in vitro. The maximum binding capacity (Bmax) and binding affinity (Kd) of ET-1 to cultured aortic smooth muscle cells were evaluated by a receptor-binding assay. The data revealed that the affinity of ET-1 binding to smooth muscle cells was similar in all 4 groups of experimental rats. However, the Bmax of cultured smooth muscle cells from 24-week-old SHRs was 2.5 times higher than of smooth muscle cells from age-matched WKY rats (8.64 +/- 0.72 vs 3.69 +/- 0.10 fmol/10(6) cells) and 1.5 times higher than in aortic smooth muscle cells from 4-week-old SHRs (8.64 +/- 0.72 vs 5.36 +/- 0.36 fmol/10(6) cells). These results suggest that hypertension in SHRs may be related to a high density of ET-1 receptors on arterial smooth muscle cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Anatomy, National Defense Medical Center Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: G C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: C F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Chao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001013:Aorta, Thoracic / Q000378:metabolism; D001667:Binding, Competitive; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D019332:Endothelin-1 / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D011918:Rats, Inbred SHR; D011921:Rats, Inbred WKY; D017466:Receptors, Endothelin / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D019332:Endothelin-1; D017466:Receptors, Endothelin