TY - JOUR
T1 - Endothelin-releasing stimuli and calcium antagonists in normal and pathological conditions
AU - Morganti, A.
AU - Giussani, M.
AU - Ghio, F.
AU - Pierini, A.
AU - Savoia, M. T.
AU - Cogo, A.
PY - 1994
Y1 - 1994
N2 - Background: Endothelin-1 is a potent vasoconstrictive peptide which circulates in blood at very low concentrations. it is mostly released from endothelial cells towards the vascular smooth muscle cells. Therefore studies addressed at increasing endothelin-1 production using physical stimuli may easily fail to cause sizeable modifications in plasma endothelin levels. Upright posture and exposure to cold, the two maneuvers so far most commonly used in humans, often have inconsistent effects on plasma endothelin-1. Recent findings: In recent studies we have found that exposure to high altitude (4500-5000m) caused, in normal subjects, significant increases in endothelin-1 which were correlated with those of mean arterial pressure and of systolic pulmonary pressure. Conclusions: Hypobaric hypoxia appears to stimulate the secretion of endothelin-1 and this response may contribute to the adaptation by the systemic and pulmonary circulation to the stress of altitude. If this can be confirmed, calcium antagonists, which are known to antagonize endothelin-1 mediated vasoconstriction, may be used to alleviate the pulmonary hypertension that occasionally occurs under these specific circumstances.
AB - Background: Endothelin-1 is a potent vasoconstrictive peptide which circulates in blood at very low concentrations. it is mostly released from endothelial cells towards the vascular smooth muscle cells. Therefore studies addressed at increasing endothelin-1 production using physical stimuli may easily fail to cause sizeable modifications in plasma endothelin levels. Upright posture and exposure to cold, the two maneuvers so far most commonly used in humans, often have inconsistent effects on plasma endothelin-1. Recent findings: In recent studies we have found that exposure to high altitude (4500-5000m) caused, in normal subjects, significant increases in endothelin-1 which were correlated with those of mean arterial pressure and of systolic pulmonary pressure. Conclusions: Hypobaric hypoxia appears to stimulate the secretion of endothelin-1 and this response may contribute to the adaptation by the systemic and pulmonary circulation to the stress of altitude. If this can be confirmed, calcium antagonists, which are known to antagonize endothelin-1 mediated vasoconstriction, may be used to alleviate the pulmonary hypertension that occasionally occurs under these specific circumstances.
KW - Blood pressure
KW - Cold
KW - Endothelin-1 secretion
KW - Hypobaric hypoxia
KW - Posture
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M3 - Article
C2 - 8207562
AN - SCOPUS:0028343984
VL - 12
JO - Journal of Hypertension, Supplement
JF - Journal of Hypertension, Supplement
SN - 0952-1178
IS - 1
ER -