title: Method for diagnosis of a disease involving an anti-endothelin receptor antibody.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Endothelin (ET) is a potent vasoconstrictor peptide with profibrotic, promitotic, and proinflammatory effects. Elevated levels of ET or inappropriate activation of ET receptors are believed to contribute to the pathogenesis of various disorders, including cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases and allograft rejection.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The pathogenetic significance of activating anti-ET receptor autoantibodies and their diagnostic usefulness are addressed.
  
  
  METHODS
  PubMed and EMBASE searches were performed for '(activating) endothelin receptor (auto)antibodies' and '(activating) angiotensin receptor (auto)antibodies'.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While activating angiotensin receptor autoantibodies have been detected in several acute and chronic disorders, published data for a corresponding role of ET receptor antibodies are currently lacking. Thus, their diagnostic and prognostic value needs to be confirmed.
authors.affiliation: University of Munich, Department of Internal Medicine, Ziemssenstrasse 1, and Department of Physiology, Pettenkoferstrasse 12, 80336 Munich, Germany +49 89 2180 75203 ; +49 89 2180 75512 ; Wolfgang.Neuhofer@med.uni-muenchen.de.
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Neuhofer