Shear stress attenuates endothelin and endothelin-converting enzyme expression through oxidative stress

Shear stress is known to dilate blood vessels and exert an antiproliferative effect on vascular walls. These effects have partly been ascribed to shear stress-induced regulation of the secretion of endothelium-derived vasoactive substances. In this study, to elucidate the role of shear stress in endothelin production by endothelial cells, we examined the effect of physiological shear stress on the mRNA expression of endothelin-converting enzyme-1 (ECE-1) as well as endothelin-1 (ET-1) in cultured bovine carotid artery endothelial cells (BAECs) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), using a parallel plate-type flow chamber. ECE-1 mRNA expression was significantly down-regulated by shear stress in an intensity- and time-dependent manner within the physiological range (1.5 to 15 dyn/cm(2)). ET-1 mRNA expression decreased together with ECE-1 mRNA expression. Shear stress at 15 dyn/cm(2) for 30 min induced a significant increase in the intracellular peroxide concentration, and the down-regulation of ECE-1 and ET-1 mRNA expression by shear stress was attenuated almost completely on treatment with N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), an antioxidant (20 mM). Furthermore, when H(2)O(2) (0.5 to 2 mM) was added to BAECs in static culture, the ECE-1 as well as ET-1 mRNA expression was attenuated in proportion to the concentration of H(2)O(2). It is suggested that endothelial cells sense shear stress as oxidative stress and transduce signal for the regulation of the gene expression of ECE as well as ET to attenuate vascular tone and inhibit the proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells.