[Presence of a specific binding site of endothelin on cultured smooth muscle cells]

The 21 amino-acids endothelium-derived peptide, endothelin, recently isolated by Yanagisawa et al. (Nature 1988; 33, 411-5) possesses potent vasoconstrictive properties in vivo and in vitro. In the present study, we investigated the binding of endothelin on cultured rat aortic smooth muscle cells using 125I-iodotyrosyl-endothelin labelled by the chloramine T method. 125I-endothelin bound to a single class of hight affinity binding sites in vascular smooth muscle cells. After 2 hours incubation at 37 degrees C, dissociation constant (Kd) was 1.2 +/- 0.3 nM and binding capacity (Bmax) was 59 +/- 11 fmol/10(6) cells (n = 5). 125I-endothelin was displaced by unlabelled endothelin with a inhibition constant (Ki) of 0.2 nM, whereas an absence of competition was observed with 1 microM of vasoactive substances such as angiotensin II, arg-vasopressin, atrial natriuretic factor, histamine, epinephrine and norepinephrine, and with the calcium entry blocks nifedipine, diltiazem and D 600. 125I-endothelin binding was not reversible by addition of unlabelled endothelin (1 microM) and not dissociable by acetic acid (10 mM) or trypsin (0.1 p. 100) treatment of the cells. Furthermore, preincubation of vascular smooth muscle cells with endothelin (1 nM) at 37 degrees C induced a rapid down-regulation of endothelin binding capacity by about 50 p. 100. These data indicate that specific endothelin bindind sites are present in smooth muscle cells, and suggest a tight binding or a rapid captation of endothelin into the cell membrane leading to contractile events.