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Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Simultaneous Isolation of High Quality Cardiomyocytes, Endothelial Cells, and Fibroblasts from an Adult Rat Heart
Published on: May 19, 2017
Cardioprotective signaling by endothelin
Anita Schorlemmer1, Michelle L Matter, Ralph V Shohet
1Department of Medicine, Center of Cardiovascular Research, John A Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA.
Abstract:
The endothelin axis promotes vasoconstriction, suggesting that antagonists of endothelin signaling might be useful in treatment of heart failure. However, promising results from animal trials have not been recapitulated in heart failure patients. Here we review the role of major signaling pathways in the heart that are involved in cell survival initiated by ET-1. These pathways include mitogen-activated protein kinase, phosphatidyl inositol-1,4,5-triphosphate kinase (PI3K-AKT), nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB), and calcineurin signaling. A better understanding of endothelin-mediated signaling in cardiac cell survival may allow a reevaluation of endothelin receptor antagonists (ETRAs) in the treatment of heart failure.
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