[The physio-pharmacological and pathological implications of the endothelins]

The papers of Furchgott and Zawadzki have widely enlarged the research field concerning the dependence of the vascular smooth muscle reactivity upon the endothelium. Besides the relaxing factors produced by the endothelium, vasoconstrictor factors have been also emphasized. The endothelial cells are also able to synthesize endothelin-like vasoconstrictor peptides. There were described some types of endothelins. They all have common structural features but substitution of certain amino-acids leads to specific effects, and all of them keep the vasoconstrictor properties. The endothelins are normal constituents of a lot of tissues (brain, endothelial and tumor cells, the spinal nodes) and of the body fluids (plasma, urine, cerebrospinal fluid etc.). The endothelins accomplish their effects by the specific receptors located in the muscle and endothelial cell membrane (ET-A and, respectively, ET-B). The endothelins action in the cell is basically based on the cytosolic Ca2+ raise. The endothelins have numerous pathological implications, especially concerning the cardiovascular pathology.